


The Rumblies

by SteelDollS



Series: The Rumblies [1]
Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Acrotomophilia, Amputation, Amputation Kink, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Anger, Angst, Assisted Showers, Bad Decisions, Bad Master, Barebacking, Blood and Injury, Blow Jobs, Body Wash, Boys Kissing, Brutality, Cannibalism, Caretaking, Consensual Sex, Cooking, Craving Affection, Creampie, Crying, Dark then Sweet fic, Death, Declarations Of Love, Despair, Desperation, Emotional Trauma, Explicit Sexual Content, Extreme Yandere, Eye Trauma, Facial Injuries, Fear, Feelings of Being Dirty or Worthless, First Time, Food/Drink Assist, Forced Self-Cannibalism, Frustration, GakuKai, Good End, Graphic Rape, Hair Feels Soft, Happy Ending, Help From Friends, Holding Each Other, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Hysterica/Hysterics, Injury, Insanity, Kaito's Scarf, Kidnapping, Kissing While Cumming, Knives, Lemon, Limping, Look Ma No Hands, M/M, Male Slash, Master is Insane, MasuKai, Mental Instability, Mild Guro Maybe, Mocking, NCS, Neediness, Non-Consensual, Non-Consensual Bondage, Nonconsensual Hair Cutting, Nudity, Obsession, Oral Sex, Overwhelming Jealousy, PTSD, Pain, Painful Sex, Physical Trauma, Psychological Trauma, Rape, Recovery, Requited Love, Rescue Attempts, Restraint Chair, Restraints, Rin's Photograph, Romance, Rough Sex, Scarring, Scents & Smells, Screaming, Self-Recrimination, Sex With Lubrication, Sex Without Lubrication, Sexual Violence, Shared Breath, Shota!Piko, Showers, Slash, Spunky!Rin, Taito's Eye Patch, Taito's Ice Pick, Taxis, Teasing, Trauma, Trauma Survivor, Trauma Victim, Trembling, Triggers, Vaseline, Violence, Yandere, Yandere!Masuta, Yaoi, disorientation, feelings of shame, handicapped character, implied rape, shaming, sleeping, suffocation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-05 23:52:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 25
Words: 40,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4199841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SteelDollS/pseuds/SteelDollS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Master x Kaito. Rin. Gakupo x Kaito. Taito, Mikuo. Piko. Master observes Kaito touching Rin's face, and loses it. Master will make it so Kaito can never touch anyone else, ever again. Warnings: Extreme yandere, acroto, cannibalism, explicit NCS, yaoi, angst, hurt/comfort. Title is a nod to the hilarious meme about the dude whose "tummy had the rumblies that only hands would satisfy."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Hee... hehehe!" Rin's cute, bubbly laugh echoed around the room. Master paused in the doorway, smiling indulgently to himself, and peeking into the room to see his new, adorable, blonde-haired female Vocaloid chatting together with his other Vocaloid... The lovely bluenette, Master's only other Vocaloid and his utter, utter favourite.

Kaito... Master smiled happily to himself as he watched the light play on his beloved Vocaloid male's shining hair. Kaito's mouth moved upwards in a beautiful, heartrending, blindingly beautiful smile. Master's own mouth twisted upwards in response, and he began to walk into the room to join his Vocaloids.

They hadn't noticed Master yet, and Kaito suddenly reached his hand out to Rin's face, wiping something off of her cheek with his thumb, gently. Master's eyes widened and he stared at Kaito's hand touching Rin's face.

'No. No, no no. No, Kaito.' Master's eyes couldn't break away, they bulged slightly, and a sweatdrop rolled down Master's back as he watched in abject silence. 'Don't touch anyone other than me. Why are you touching her? Why are you touching her?' Master could feel something rising from the pit of his belly, and the feeling was a dark feeling.

'You can't... Kaito... not someone other than Master. Not someone other than me,' Master was only surfacely aware of his thoughts continuing to run in the background of his mind. Master's body felt suddenly cold, his face felt suddenly numb. Master opened his lips to speak, and his lips felt numb as well, but the words came out, and neither of his Vocaloids seemed to realize that there was something very wrong going on.

"What are you two up to?" Master's smooth tenor voice asked, and Rin and Kaito moved their eyes to notice Master standing nearby, with twin smiles on their faces. Kaito's hand dropped from Rin's cheek.

"Just chatting about our favourite songs, Master," Kaito spoke in pleasant reply, his head tilted slightly, adorably, and Master's insides twisted and churned, his desire to have Kaito only look at him clenching his muscles. Master visibly tried to relax the tension in his body.

"Master, are you okay?" Rin's cute little voice piped up. She was looking at Master with an expression of vague concern. Master formed the parody of a smile on his face, and it seemed to work, because Rin smiled back, albiet a little unnervedly, sensing something strange in Master's smile this time.

"Rin. Yes... Rin, could you go to the store, for Master, actually," Master slowly replied, his brain sluggishly working as he struggled to calm himself and appear normal. Master knew suddenly what he had to do. But he needed to get Rin out of the house for a while, to do it.

"Sure, Master!" Rin beamed with unexpected pride at being the one asked to run errands this time. Usually, ever since Rin had come home, Master had only asked Kaito to do things for him. Rin felt pleased with herself that she now had Master's trust enough to run to the store for him. "What is it you want me to buy from the store?"

"I will make you a list," Master quickly replied, and walked to the table, grabbing a pen and paper, and scribbling a number of different things onto it. Master straightened his body and handed the list, and his wallet, to Rin. Her blue eyes scanned the list briefly, to make sure she didn't have any questions.

"There's a lot of different things on here, Master," Rin's voice sounded a little unsure of herself as she read it. "I'll have to go to several different stores. Is that okay? It might take a while."

"That's fine, that's fine, Rin. Don't feel like you have to rush," Master said, then quickly tacked on, "Just make sure you get exactly what I have written down, even if it takes a little longer to find. Okay?"

Rin smiled back, looked down at the list again, still feeling a bit unsure, but... wanting to do her best. Rin suddenly nodded, and smiled again, with her usual great energy. "Okay, Master! I will go right now!"

With that, Rin flounced out of the room. Kaito and Master could hear a commotion by the door and a sudden slamming sound as Rin ran out of the house, clutching the list to herself in excitement. Kaito grinned to himself at the little blonde's energy, and ran his hand through his shining blue hair.

Master's eyes followed Kaito's hand's movement hungrily.

"Kaito, there is something I want you to do for me, as well," Master said softly, and Kaito's attention returned to his Master. Master's face looked a little pale, and he was breathing a bit erratically.

'Maybe Rin was right,' Kaito thought to himself briefly in concern, 'Master does seem a little strange today. Maybe he is coming down with a cold or something.' But Kaito put on a friendly expression and nodded to Master.

"Good, good, Kaito. Come with me." Master turned and walked from the room. Kaito obediently followed as they walked down the hallway.

Master led him into a room that Kaito hadn't had cause to enter before this. It was white, clean, and sparse. There was little furniture in the room, save a partially reclined chair with hard-looking cushions on it, and armrests that had some sort of straps attached to them.

"Go ahead and sit down, there, Kaito," Master said, in that same, quiet, almost monotone voice.

Kaito glanced Master's way again, his face looking concerned. Kaito did as Master asked, however, and sat down in the chair. The cushions were indeed as uncomfortable as they had looked. Kaito shifted his weight slightly, trying to get a little more comfortable.

Master walked over to Kaito and placed his arm on the armrest. As Master began to put the straps in place, effectively tying Kaito down, Kaito protested. "What are you doing, Master?"

"I need to do a little upgrade, Kaito. Just keep your arms in place there, as I put these restraints onto you." Master wouldn't be persuaded, and Kaito allowed Master to tighten the restraints on first one of his arms, then the other, feeling a growing feeling of concern blossoming in his stomach.

"Why do you need restraints on me to perform an update, or maintenance, on me, Master? You have never had to restrain me before." Kaito felt unsettled, and tested against his restraints, but they were quite tight, and he couldn't move his arms away from the chair at all. Kaito's fingers clenched and unclenched and he regarded Master with a worried expression.

Master chuckled lightly, but there was something weird about the tone of his voice. Kaito watched as Master turned, opened a drawer in a nearby metal cabinet, and pulled out a few items. A roll of bandages. What looked like a... big wire cutter? A scalpel... Kaito felt a cold sweat breaking out on his body. What was going on?

"I saw what you did, back there, you know," Master said conversationally in that same, weird tone of voice. Kaito frowned in confusion. What was it he had done?

"Touching Rin like that. That was very naughty, Kaito. You belong to me, not to Rin. You should only ever touch me. Only me, your Master, Kaito. But I know what to do, to fix it. To make sure that you never again, touch anyone else, other than me." Master smiled a half-sort of smile, his eyes glinting in the light in a peculiar way. Kaito's alarm was growing exponentially by the minute.

Master trailed a finger lightly over Kaito's hand, tracing the outlines of the edges of Kaito's fingers. It tingled, and Kaito's hands clenched slightly against the sensation. Master smiled a dark, gleeful smile to himself, and pulled his hand back, picking up the scalpel once again.

"What, what are you going to do, Master?" Kaito stuttered, his eyes fixed on the small, shining, sharp blade that Master was wielding. Master didn't answer, but his hand moved the scalpel to the side of Kaito's wrist. Kaito's eyes widened, suddenly utterly terrified.

Master began to make a cut, pressing the scalpel strongly into Kaito's flesh, seperating it. Kaito felt the pain burning, burning, and he yelled, tried to get away, tried anything, but he was strapped into the chair too well, and his restraints wouldn't let him do much more than try to twist his wrists away and clench, and unclench his hands.

Blood ran down Kaito's arm as he struggled, his blue eyes bulging, taking huge panic breaths one moment, screaming and kicking his legs out in front of him the next moment. Master was slightly off to the side, and avoided all of the kicking as he tried to focus on making clean, surgical cuts, despite all of Kaito's drama.

When Kaito moved his wrists and tried to fight Master, the cuts were sloppy, ragged, unclean. But Master just kept his focus and cut, cut, deeper and deeper.

With the deeper cuts separating his flesh and muscle, Kaito's pain increased, until he was screaming at the top of his lungs. When Master's scalpel touched against the side of Kaito's bone, Kaito felt a white explosion of agony in his head that made him black out for a brief moment.

Master pulled the scalpel away and picked up the thing that resembled a large wire cutter with his bloody hands. Kaito's head flopped to its side and he stared in horror at the scene in front of him. He tried to move his hands, tried to fight, but one of his hands wouldn't respond. He couldn't move his fingers. Kaito stared at the bloody mess of that hand with sheer terror in his eyes.

Master opened the cutters and probed Kaito's torn flesh apart.

"No," Kaito breathed, his chest choking him. "Master!"

Master smiled down at Kaito and closed the cutters with great force, crushing and breaking Kaito's first arm bone apart. Kaito tried to scream, but it choked in his throat from the pain that was so intense, that instead of screaming, instead of vomiting from the pain, his body relaxed suddenly into a slump, and Kaito fell unconscious.

"Don't worry, Kaito," Master murmured comfortingly, "After this, you won't touch anyone else with these beautiful hands, ever again."

Master moved the cutters once more, aiming for the second bone in Kaito's wrist. As it crushed and broke cleanly apart, Kaito's hand fell away from his lovely body, attached only by a few stray strands of muscle tissue. Master smiled happily and used the scalpel to cut those last few stubborn strands, seperating Kaito from his beautiful hand.

"These hands belong only to me," Master murmured and quickly moved to staunch the gushing flow of blood from Kaito's veins. His unconscious Vocaloid was pale already from the bloodloss, and there was still one more hand left to go. Master smiled happily and pressed his cheek against the palm of Kaito's dismembered hand. "Only to me, from now on."

Whistling a suddenly cheery tune, Master went back to work, ignoring the bloodstain on his cheek that started to dry into a powdery, dark red color.


	2. Chapter 2

Kaito woke groggily, sharp, throbbing pain lancing up his arms. He felt lightheaded, disoriented. He wasn't in bed. There was a cold, hard floor beneath him. It felt like concrete, rough, unpleasant. Kaito rolled from his back onto his side, groaning. His stomach felt sick.

"Are you awake now?" Master's soft voice came from somewhere over to the left, above Kaito. There was a good smell in the room, a little like roasted pork. Kaito glanced blearily up towards where Master's voice was coming from, willing his eyes to focus.

"That's good, Kaito." Master purred down at him. "I was wondering when you would wake back up. My tummy got the rumblies while I was waiting for you, so I had to make a snack." Master laughed lightly at his own joke.

Master was holding a plate. Food? But as Kaito focused on it, the growing feeling of wrongness screaming inside of his head, screaming, his eyes took in the contents of the plate, and widened into huge saucers. Hands.

Kaito instantly tried to rise, to flee, to put his hands out and raise himself from the floor, but as he did so there were only bloody, bandaged stumps there, and he screamed in agony as they hit the floor instead of his usual hands, screamed in horror and terror as he fell back against the concrete floor and held his amputated stumps in front of his blue eyes.

Master watched Kaito's antics with a quiet smile as the blue-haired Vocaloid flailed around on the ground and shrieked. Kaito tried to rise to his knees, but Master had stopped those actions too. Kaito's favorite blue scarf was wrapped and tied tightly around his legs and knees, binding him from being able to walk or rise.

Kaito's lips trembled and his eyes were filled with tears and fear as he regarded Master as if Master were some sort of fairy tale monster, come to life. Master just smiled happily down at his beloved Vocaloid. Finally, Kaito couldn't touch anyone but Master anymore. The feeling gave Master a great satisfaction and joy.

As if to remind Master that he hadn't begun his snack yet, his tummy did indeed rumble. Master laughed again, lightly, and picked up one of the two, lovely, now-cooked hands and lifted it to his eagerly waiting lips.

Kaito moaned, a low, tortured, animal sound. "Nooo... please... no," He sobbed at Master as Master opened his mouth to take a bite of one of Kaito's delicious fingers. Master paused and smiled quirkily down at Kaito again.

"Oh, come now, Kaito. It's not as if I can reattach them again, now that they've been cooked, after all... can I, now?" Master scolded with that strange little half-smile on his face. Kaito's face crumpled in horrified betrayal as Master opened his mouth again and took a little bite of Kaito's little finger.

"Mm, it's good," Master murmured as he chewed and swallowed, taking little nibbles from around Kaito's finger bones. Master's eyes were partially closed as if in pleasure, and Kaito's body was wracked with uncontrollable sobbing as he watched his Master devour his amputated, cooked flesh.

When Master had finished eating from one of Kaito's hands, he put the plate quietly aside, and smiled back down at Kaito once more. Kaito's body cringed away in terror as Master took a step towards Kaito, kneeling down in front of the trussed boy and touching his face. Master smiled a great, happy smile.

"Now you're really mine, Kaito. You're inside of my belly, now. You're going to be digested and become a part of me. Doesn't that make you happy? You're going to be with your Master, who loves you so much, forever." Master tilted his head, his eyes shining with an insane delight.

"No... nooo..." Kaito whimpered and moaned, horrified. It had to be a nightmare. But Kaito had never had such a nightmare as this.

"No..?" Master paused, stroking his hand against Kaito's soft cheek. "No, Kaito?" Master's eyes closed partially again, as if he was thinking. Kaito's body trembled in fear and he watched Master as Master suddenly gave Kaito an even greater smile. It was as if Master had suddenly figured out the answer to a problem.

"You can't say no to me, ever again, Kaito," Master whispered silkily into Kaito's ear. With steady hands, Master reached down to Kaito's pants and unbuttoned them. Master touched gently against Kaito's manhood with a grin, and unzipped Kaito's pants. Kaito was panting in terror as Master pulled Kaito's pants and underwear down.

Kaito began to struggle, squirming in earnest, blue eyes huge and terrified. What was happening? What was Master going to do to him? Kaito couldn't wrap his head around the situation. He felt like his brain was going to short circuit from fear. As he flopped around, he banged his bloody stumps against the floor again, and screamed in the agony that created.

Master let go of the squirming Vocaloid as Kaito panicked, standing up again, towering over Kaito as he removed his own pants and underwear. As Kaito quieted down, holding his bloody arm stumps next to his chest uselessly, Master lightly stroked his own cock.

Watching Kaito flail around, unable even to protect himself from Master... It was a heady, potent sensation. Master almost felt lightheaded himself.

Kaito was his, now. Master could do anything. Even if Kaito tried to fight, he would fail. Kaito belonged only to Master. Master would prove it, again, and again, prove it through Kaito's screams and tears, that only Master could touch the lovely blue-haired Vocaloid.

Only Master could touch him, in his most intimate of places.


	3. Chapter 3

Kaito's face was a mess of tears and clear snot running down his cheeks and from his nose. The bluenette was grimacing in an expression of fear and pain. It was beautiful to Master. Everything about Kaito, was beautiful to Master. Master's heart swelled with the knowledge that everything about Kaito belonged to him, now. Or it would... very shortly.

Master smiled happily, and bent down, kneeling on the hard, cold cement. His hand reached out to touch Kaito's manhood again, stroking it with his outstretched fingers. Kaito shook his head through his haze of tears and tried to push Master away from himself, but again, the stumps of his hands were the only thing that responded.

Kaito howled and held his bloody stumps back to his chest, rocking slightly, as Master laughed in genuine amusement.

"You can't push me away, anymore," Master observed with a great, self-satisfied grin. Master's hand continued to grope Kaito's soft length, feeling pleased with himself. "This, too, is mine, Kaito," Master alerted Kaito as he touched the bluenette with an unwelcome intimacy.

Kaito shuddered and tried to scoot away by squirming his bound legs, but Master just pulled his hips closer, and flopped Kaito over. Kaito yelped as his cock scraped against the harsh floor, but didn't stop trying to squirm away. Master laughed throatily at Kaito's antics, feeling the power of his domination over the bound, damaged Vocaloid who he loved so intensely.

"No, no, NO, NOO!" Kaito screamed loudly as he felt Master's blunt, dry fingertip probing his anus. The tip of Master's finger wiggled against Kaito's clenched entrance, elicting another shout and increased wiggling, increased desperation, from the bluenette.

"I should have bought some lubricant in here, shouldn't I have, Kaito?" Master smiled lovingly down at his struggling, panting, terrified Vocaloid. "Well, there's still a little grease on my fingers from my 'snack' earlier. That will just have to do. I'm afraid this is going to hurt you more than it is going to hurt me, lovely."

Master thrilled to the feeling of Kaito's clenching against his finger, and he thrust in ruthlessly, spreading Kaito's tense, firm, tight little entrance without regard for the bluenette's loud cries and sobbing tears.

"Kaito... I'm so happy. I'm going to become one with you, just like you are becoming one with me," Master sighed in a sick sort of satisfaction at the pleasing image, as he added another finger to Kaito's already abused little hole. Stretching, pushing in deeply, until Master's fingers couldn't go any further inside. Scissoring inside of Kaito's rebelling body.

Kaito felt like he was going to throw up. His beloved Master was violating him, terrifying him, hurting him... had EATEN his hands, after cutting them off. Was pushing his fingers inside of Kaito, covered in the grease of his own cooked flesh. Kaito started to hyperventilate from the stress that he couldn't handle, taking deep breaths of air trying to calm himself, but the crying wouldn't stop, his struggles wouldn't stop, and he was helpless, terrified...

Master removed his two fingers from Kaito's poor little hole and lightly licked the tip of one of his fingers, smiling a twisted, messed-up little smile down at the Vocaloid male. Master grabbed Kaito's hips on either side hard, his fingertips pressing white against the pale, pink flesh, as he positioned his own hips to press his manhood against Kaito's entrance.

Kaito's attempts to flail made it a little more difficult to push in at first, but the satisfaction of conquering his beloved Vocaloid despite Kaito's obvious objections calmed Master's heart with a great joy and satisfaction. Master pushed in bodily, past Kaito's defenses, and letting out a deep groan of pleasure that clashed with Kaito's high-pitched scream of pain.

"NOO! NOOO! NO, NOOO!" Kaito screamed again and again, mindlessly, as his body was rocked, hard, by Master's sudden, intense, damaging thrusts to his insides. Master wasn't paying any attention to the injuries he was doing to Kaito, instead possessed by the sheer lust overpowering his senses as he pushed in hard, deep, fast, faster, faster, HARDER.

Kaito tried to escape, tried to flail, helpless and in terror and agony, his little butt and his lower intestines felt like Master was ripping them apart with his hard manhood. Kaito screamed, screamed, until his voice was raw, shaking his head in denial, trying to scrabble away from Master with his fingertips that were no longer there.

"Oh, god... It's so GOOD!" Master cried out and bucked against Kaito. "A... haaah! HAHA! Kaito! It's so GOOD!" Master's exuberent voice echoed through the room, overpowering Kaito's scream for a brief moment.

"Maybe I should cut off your legs next, Kaito. I'll cut off your legs so you can't ever run away from me! Starting with your feet, then a little more, a little more, every week, until only stumps are left there! You can wiggle and scream as much as you want, and I'll take everything that I want from you!" Master laughed insanely and continued to pummel into and out of Kaito.

Kaito howled, his body clenching in intense, utter terror at Master's horrific words. His anus clenching hard against Master's abusive cock that was raping him with such violence. Master gasped at the sensation, yelling himself, wordlessly, making a duet of volume with Kaito.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Master crowed and pushed forward, forward, hard, hard, screaming out his pleasure. "That's so good, Kaito! Clench around me tighter! I'm going to fill your belly so full of my come, you'll never get it out! HA, hahahah!" Master shouted over Kaito's raw screams, holding the Vocaloid's hips even tighter, pulling the young man's ass even closer, pounding into the bluenette for all he was worth.

"NOOOO!" Kaito shrieked as he felt Master's length pulse inside of him, pulse and shoot out a hot, hot spray of fluids into Kaito's deepest depths.

"AHHH!" Master yelled, forcing his hips forward powerfully, as deep into Kaito as he could go, as he released his orgasm into Kaito's bowels. Master thrust in again, again, deeply, as he rode his orgasm out. He shivered with feeling and held Kaito close to him as he panted, coming down from his ultimate high.

Kaito was sobbing in such a way that his slender chest physically hurt from it, the tightness of his anxiety and agony causing his sinuses to swell. His nose was running so hard that Kaito could hardly breathe through it, instead taking gasping, noisy panic breaths through the rain of his helpless, agonized tears.

"Uuuu... uggghhhhhhhh, waaaaaahh!" Kaito cried helplessly, trying to curl his body up and away from the damage. Master released his hips and pulled his softening, satisfied cock out of Kaito's asshole. Master panted lightly from his own exertion, but looked down with a gleeful expression as he noted the little trail of semen seeping from Kaito's buttcrack.

"Now, now, Kaito. Aren't you happy? Master took your first time. And it felt so, so good, Kaito. Master is inside of you now, forever. And I'm so, so happy, Kaito. You make me so, so happy," Master praised the bluenette with shining, crazed eyes, and a huge grin. Kaito sobbed bodily.

"Don't cry, little love," Master's purring voice continued on, happily. Master walked slightly away, picking up the plate with its remaining hand on it, waiting to be snacked on. "I'll give you a little taste of this delicious treat, if you're a good boy, Kaito." Master grinned even wider, and walked back to Kaito, bending down in front of him and holding the cooked hand in one hand, the plate in the other.

Kaito hiccupped in terror and disbelief as Master gently flaked a piece of cooked flesh off of Kaito's dismembered hand and held it to Kaito's trembling, horrified mouth. Kaito's eyes shimmered terribly, the experience too much for him to comprehend. Master was watching him with intense eyes that looked dangerous.

"Open up, my lovely," Master said quietly. "If you don't, I'll actually hurt you, this time." Kaito's already wide, tearful eyes rounded into huge saucers as his body shook from stress, fear, and horror. A quiet, high-pitched animal sound tore itself from Kaito's throat as he shook.

"Now, Kaito." Master cajoled, "Open up, for Master. It's delicious... what a rare treat I will share with you, my beloved one." Kaito opened his mouth, scared out of his wits. Master placed the piece of flesh inside of Kaito's lips and closed the bluenette's mouth with one finger under his trembling chin.

"Good boy... chew it well, now. Do you like the flavor? I think it's the best thing I've ever eaten," Master cooed and stroked Kaito's cheek lovingly, but Master's eyes were hard and looked insane. Kaito couldn't stop sobbing as he obeyed Master's wishes, and chewed lightly, feeling traumatized by the taste of his own flesh inside of his mouth, against his tongue. Kaito's horrified tears wouldn't stop.

"Go ahead and swallow," Master finally instructed after a long moment, smiling that smile that was not really a smile at all. Kaito obeyed, feeling sick to the very pit of his stomach as he forced the bit of flesh down his throat. Master's smile widened, and he stood back up.

"Good boy, good boy, Kaito. I love you, you know," Master laughed lightly as he said this, picked up the plate and the remainder of Kaito's hands, and walked towards the door. As he opened the door with a softly creaking sound, Master half turned back around, and spoke softly one last time to Kaito.

"When I come back, Kaito, I'll take the rest of your first times," Master said, enigmatically. Kaito's body shook against the floor and he watched as Master closed the door softly behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

Rin balanced her packages in both hands with difficulty as she walked up the drive and tried to fumble with the door. Giving up after dropping some of the packages in a spectacularly embarassing manner, Rin put some of the things from the store down onto the porch, blushing, and taking a quick glance around to see if anyone spotted her accidental clumsiness.

Rin opened the door, one of her arms still full of bags, and leaving the rest on the porch for the moment.

"I'm home, Master!" Rin called out cheerfully, and placed the items from Master's shopping list on the table inside the house. She peeked her head into the kitchen, hearing the sound of water running. Master stood at the sink, washing some dishes.

Master turned around and smiled at Rin, putting the soapy plate in his hands down into the sink with a soft clatter.

"Welcome home, Rin," Master smiled, a little strangely. Rin smiled back, and exclaimed in excitement.

"Master, guess what? While I was out getting your things, I found that a new ice cream place has opened! I thought maybe you would like to take me, and Kaito, as well, at some point, or maybe, even tonight?" Rin grinned at the thought of Kaito's exuberence when it came to the sweet, frozen treat.

"Ah, yes, that's a good idea, Rin," Master seemed about to say something, but then stopped himself, smiling strangely again, and turning back to the sink.

"I'll go tell Kaito, right now!" Rin said, feeling excited at the thought of an outing together with the three of them.

"Ah, wait, Rin," Master called out to her as she turned to go down to Kaito's room. "Kaito isn't, ah, home right now, actually."

"What? He's not? Where did he go?" Rin frowned, a little confused.

"He went out with... some friends," Master lied smoothly, and smiled again at the petite blonde Vocaloid female. "He said they might be out very late, and not to wait up."

"Oh!" Rin's frown increased a little bit. "I... didn't know Kaito had any friends outside of the house. I've never seen him go to visit with anybody before."

"Yes, well..." Master seemed a little flummoxed at this, but recovered quickly with another little smile that Rin didn't return immediately. "He has them, but he doesn't always visit with them, all the time. You know how it is, Rin."

With that, Master seemed to dismiss her presence there, and returned his attention to the sink once more, rinsing off the soapy plate and placing it in the dish drainer. Rin cocked her head and nibbled on the inside of her lip for a moment, then shrugged her small shoulders and went back towards the front door to retrieve the rest of the packages from the porch.

Outside on the porch, Rin picked up the remaining bags, glancing around the neighborhood for a moment before heading back inside. It was a nice day outside, sunny, but not harsh, warm, but comfortably so, and not too humid. There were big, fluffy, white clouds in the robin's egg blue sky, and a slight breeze that felt refreshing blew across her skin and ruffled her hair.

Rin's eyes caught for a moment on the house next door. The front door was slightly ajar and moved a little bit in the breeze. Rin blinked, remembering that their neighbor in that house was on vacation at the moment. Master had mentioned something about keeping an eye on their house while they were away. Not that anything was likely to happen. It was a quiet neighborhood, and there was hardly any crime.

Rin wondered if she should go fetch Master, to point out the door being open on that house, but she shrugged to herself slightly, thinking, 'Why bother Master when I can just go over and take care of it for him?'

Rin trotted over to the partially open door, her arms still full of the remaining bags from the store. As she reached out with one hand to close the door, Rin paused, and a naughty, cute little smirk pasted itself across her small, feminine face.

After all, how many times did you get to check out other peoples' homes, when they weren't around? Rin allowed herself a little grin as a thrill went through her. It's not like anybody was watching, after all... right? Rin's head moved and her eyes quickly scanned the neighborhood. Not a person in sight. Rin grinned bigger and slipped inside the house.

It was bigger inside than it looked from outside. Rin's eyes wandered across the plush carpeting, noticing the color of the paint on the walls, the few random photographs and art pieces hanging up. She wandered a little further into the house, quietly exploring, allowing her sense of curiousity to get the better of her.

Rin peeked in the bedrooms, flopped down on the comfy couch in the living room for a moment, and played with the faucets in the kitchen sink, giggling slightly to herself, feeling as if she was doing something forbidden. Her eyes caught on a red door that looked like it might lead outside, or perhaps to the neighbor's garage, and she reached her small hand forward to grab the handle, turning it, a sense of fun expectation tickling her senses as the door opened.

...

Kaito couldn't stop himself from crying helplessly as he remained trussed up on the cold cement floor. His bottom hurt, his arms hurt, his chest hurt. And his mind couldn't grasp the horrors he had just experienced. The mental images of Master nibbling on Kaito's cooked fingers, of Master smiling down with an insane light in his eyes, of Master flipping Kaito over and pushing into Kaito over and over again, overlapping themselves in his head.

Kaito was gasping for air, but no matter how deeply of a breath he took, his chest felt like it was being crushed around his lungs. He felt dizzy, disoriented, sick. But his widened, terrified eyes moved in short, jerky motions towards the door as his ears heard the soft sound of the handle turning again.

Kaito panted in abject fear. Master was coming back. Kaito keened to himself, unable to stop the sound, as the door slowly swung open and a malignant, shadowy figure appeared in the doorway.

"Noooo," Kaito moaned in that same keening tone, and curled up his body even further, cringing away from the horrible realities Master was sure to bring back to him this time.

"...Kaito?" A soft, high, feminine voice sounding shocked, spoke his name. "Oh... oh my... oh my GOD! Kaito?!"

Rin's body was frozen as she took in the image of Kaito's body on the ground, his legs tied up in his scarf, his pants and underwear down around his hips, and the bloody bandages that were tied around his hands. Rin's eyes adjusted in shock as they focused on those bandaged hands, on the ends of Kaito's arms, which seemed just a little too short for their normal length.

"Oh, oh, my god," Rin whispered in horror, dropping the bags in her hands, her body breaking out of its temporary paralysis to run over to the tortured Vocaloid male, her knees hitting the cement with a meaty sound that she failed even to notice. Rin grabbed Kaito's shoulders and tried to turn him to look at her.

Kaito hiccupped loudly and cringed away from Rin's touch. Rin's face had a horrified expression on it, as she demanded, "Who did this to you? Kaito!"

Kaito's body was shaking like a leaf in Rin's grasp as he sobbed and bent his head, ashamed and disbelieving of his own answer to her question. "M... Master," Kaito croaked out in a horrible, abused-sounding voice.

"Of, of course! I'll get Master! Just, just wait right here, Kaito!" Rin started to stumble to her feet again, her shock numbing her extremities so that she felt very unbalanced. Her blue eyes were wide as she turned to run to the door.

"N-NO! NOO!" Kaito shrieked bloody hell as Rin started to sprint away from him. "NO!" Rin stopped in her tracks, turning around with a white face, as Kaito flopped brokenly on the floor, trying to stop her from leaving.

"Kaito, Kaito, please... please calm down!" Rin started to feel like she was going into hyperventilation, but she had to remain strong, for Kaito's sake. "Master will, Master will know what to do, I-"

"No," Kaito sobbed again, "Rin... it, it was... it was Master. It was Master! You, you have to get away. Run away, Rin!"

Rin felt like the floor dropped out from underneath her, and she swayed slightly as she looked at Kaito's pleading, terrified face, his eyes that were drowning in tears, his lack of... hands... Kaito bowed his head once more, his beautiful blue hair falling over his face as he sobbed loudly.

It was impossible. Master did... this? Rin's horror was overwhelming, but she couldn't not believe Kaito, after the tortured, honestly terrified expression he had given her. She took a hesitant, unsteady step back towards the bluenette, then another.

Rin knelt back down by Kaito's prone body and touched against Kaito's soft hair. Kaito flinched and just kept crying.

"We have to get out of here," Rin said in a breathless voice. "We have to run, Kaito. I, I'm not leaving you here. Come on. We have to go."

Rin struggled with the knots that were tying Kaito's legs together for minutes that felt like hours. Rin was sure that at any moment, Master might come barging through the garage door. If that happened... Rin's fingers shook and she cursed her own nervousness that was keeping them from getting away any more quickly.

Finally, finally, the scarf came undone, and Kaito's legs were freed. Kaito's wracking sobs had started to quiet a bit, as Rin was working on helping Kaito to escape. His legs were wobbly as he tried to stand, without the use of his hands.

Kaito stumbled against his own legs and started to fall, but Rin caught him by the shoulder and helped him balance as he gained his footing. Kaito's face was a mask of pure fear as he regarded the door, and Rin could imagine his thought process as she followed the bluenette's line of sight.

"H-hold still," Rin stuttered as Kaito leaned against her for balance. Her hands shook badly as she pulled his pants and underwear back up to their proper places, and she fumbled anxiously with the zipper and button, cursing her hands again, that they didn't want to obey her.

"Come on, Kaito. We have to hurry," Rin whispered urgently, and helped the bluenette walk towards the door, his steps stumbling all the way. Rin placed her shoulder underneath Kaito's armpit, acting as a support for him, and being careful not to touch the bloody, bandaged stump that was the end of his arm, as she did so.

"I have a friend who can help us," Rin continued, feeling like she needed the support of her own voice speaking aloud, in order to retain her sanity. She wondered whether she and Kaito would escape safely from this place.

'But,' Rin thought, 'Escaping in /safety,/ now, is impossible for Kaito. His hands... oh god. I just have to get him out of here before something worse happens to us.'

Rin knew in the pit of her stomach that if they were caught while getting out of here, it was going to be much, much worse for her, than it already had been for Kaito. Her nervousness made her legs feel like pure jelly as she guided the traumatized bluenette through the layout of the house and towards the front door... and, hopefully, out into freedom.


	5. Chapter 5

Rin's heart hammered in her chest as she reached out to open the front door of the house. Some part of her unconscious mind was terrified that Master would be waiting to catch them, right outside, as she turned the knob and pushed the door open, holding Kaito upright against her shoulder as she did so.

The warm, bright, natural light met her eyes, a peaceful, quiet scene without people in it, a soft, light, fresh-smelling breeze ruffling against her skin that was alive with nerves. The contrast between the horrific scene Rin had walked into in the garage, and the calmness of the neighborhood's usual, normal appearance rattled her nerves even more.

The serenity of the environment as Rin and Kaito stumbled outside together felt fake, felt unreal. The alarm in Rin's heart was making her eyes dart back and forth in fear, watching Master's house, eyes on the other neighbors' houses, trying to move as quickly as she and Kaito could manage, away, away, down the street, out of sight of the windows that Rin was /sure/ Master could clearly see the pair of them through, if he but chanced to look outside while they were fleeing.

Kaito was walking awkwardly, hurrying as quickly as his legs would move, but they didn't seem to want to hold him up very well. Rin noticed how very pale his face was, and her anxiety increased even further.

The two Vocaloids limped down the street, around the corner. Rin breathed a slight sigh of relief as Master's house disappeared from their view, she kept looking over her shoulder in paranoia. But her stress wasn't nearly gone. The pair continued to walk awkwardly, as quickly as they could manage, towards the nearby corner store Rin was aiming them towards.

When they reached the store, Rin felt an almost tangible relief. The owner was sure to allow her to use their phone. She could call for help. Rin helped Kaito make it to the bench outside of the store, steadied him as he sat down with clear exhaustion and continuing fear marking his normally smooth features.

"I'm going to use the phone inside. Stay here, where I can see you through the window. Do not leave, don't talk to anyone. Just wait, and I am going to get us some help." Rin tried to sound confident, as if she had a plan, as if Kaito didn't have to worry, but her own uncertainty wouldn't go away so easily, either.

'I just hope he's home,' Rin thought to herself as she opened the door and stepped into the store. The sound of the bells over the door jangled, frightening her badly. She tried to regain her composure, tried not to look as frightened as she felt, tried to project a calm outward appearance as she approached the counter and spoke to the girl who was working at the register today.

"Excuse me, but, may I use your phone? It's an emergency," Rin stated, trying to convey her seriousness, but not wanting to explain the situation. If Master came to the store and asked after them, she wanted to leave as little trace of Kaito's presence as possible.

The green-haired girl nodded, handing Rin the phone, and directing her to press "1" to access the outside line. Rin's trembling fingers reached out, and she grabbed her own wrist with her other hand, trying to calm her shaking. Rin took the phone and dialed the number that she had memorized months ago, shortly before Master had purchased her from the Vocaloid store and brought her home to live with himself and Kaito.

The memory squeezed Rin's heart. She had been so happy that day. So proud. What had gone wrong? Rin squeezed her eyes shut and prayed to whatever might be listening, as the phone rang, once, again... again.

A soft click on the other end of the line sounded, and a smooth male voice answered the other end of the line politely. "Yes, Ichijose residence. How may I help you?"

"Gakupo?" Rin's heart thumped painfully in her chest at the sound of her good friend's voice.

"Rin!" The voice on the other end of the line gained a sudden warmth to it. "It's good to hear from you. I haven't been able to see you lately, since Master has been keeping me busy, but he's on tour now. Perhaps we can arrange for you to come visit me, soon." Rin could imagine the soft smile on her purple-haired friend's face as he continued to speak into the phone.

Rin clutched the phone, longing for the comfort of her friend's presence immediately. "Gakupo..." She didn't know how to start, and despite her efforts, her throat suddenly choked up.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Rin..?" Gakupo's voice sounded like it was starting to get concerned. "Is everything alright? Is... something the matter?"

Hearing the kindness in the male Vocaloid's voice broke a soft sob free from Rin's chest. She shook her head violently, trying to regain her control, trying to get a handle on her fear.

"No, something... something awful has happened. I need your help. Please, Gakupo. Can you help us?" Rin didn't realize the plural she had used until it was already out of her mouth, and it was too late to take back. She waited with bated breath for Gakupo to demand what she meant, who "we" was, what was going on. There was another short pause on the end of the line.

"Of course, Rin," Gakupo's voice said into the silence. "Whatever you need. Where are you right now? Should I send someone to come get you?" There was another, almost trepid pause. "Are you in any danger right now?"

Rin's relief was almost blinding. "I, I think, I am. Gakupo... It's at the corner news shop down the street from... Master's house. Please, hurry."

"I understand," This time the soft reply was swift, decided. "I'll call a taxi; Master took the car to the airport when he left. It might be a few minutes. Will you be safe that long?"

"I hope so," Rin whispered, squeezing her eyes shut again, her high-pitched voice wavering slightly. "Thank you, Gakupo. You're a lifesaver, and, I mean that," She finished, wholeheartedly.

"You would do the same for me," Gakupo replied. "I'm going to hang up now, and call the taxi company. Hang in there, someone will be there soon."

The line went dead, and Rin let the phone drop down away from her ear. She stared at the phone in her hand for a long moment. A friendly, slightly concerned looking pair of green eyes caught hers, as the store clerk held out her hand to take the phone back from Rin. Rin handed it over.

"Th-thank you," Rin managed to mumble, feeling a sense of numbness and fatigue stealing over her suddenly. Her eyes snapped back to the outside, focusing on Kaito's slumped posture, his blue head was bent downwards, as if in defeat. Her heart hurt a little as she watched him.

Rin walked back through the door, and those damn bells startled her yet again as they slammed against the doorframe as it was opened. Kaito didn't look up at her as she walked back over to him and knelt in front of his body, looking up into his downturned face, trying to smile encouragingly.

"Help is coming, Kaito. My friend is sending a car. It's going to be okay, now," Rin said, but felt like she was lying as she tried to comfort the traumatized bluenette. How could it possibly be okay?

But Kaito acknowledged her words with a short, silent nod of his head. His hair fell down over his face, and he kept staring downwards at the ground, or... Oh.

Rin's expression crumbled a little bit. It wasn't the ground Kaito was looking at. It wasn't the ground, at all.


	6. Chapter 6

Every car that drove up to the store was Master's car. Every person who got out of their vehicles was Master. Everyone who walked by became Master as they approached Kaito and Rin, who sat uncomfortably, waiting in fearful silence, on the bench of the corner store.

Kaito's shoulders were bunched up from tension as he stared, unseeing, downwards, his other senses practically on fire from the anxiety. He flinched a little every time someone came too close as they walked by. One person's coat actually brushed against his upper arm as they walked, somewhat rudely, by. Kaito shuddered at the sensation.

Rin had arranged Kaito's scarf over the bloody, bandaged stumps that now existed as the ends of his arms. It covered the bandages and damage enough so that it wasn't as immediately obvious to the casual observer that there was something very wrong with the picture of the two of them.

It felt like an eternity, like time's meaning had been corrupted, and the regular flow of minutes and hours was all twisted up, before a yellow taxicab finally pulled into the store's parking lot. Rin put her hand gently on Kaito's shoulder, shaking him very slightly to get his attention. She was afraid to shake too hard, even though her heart had jumped in nervous, stressed-out relief upon seeing the yellow vehicle.

"That's our ride. Let's go," Rin whispered urgently under her breath, and helped Kaito to stand. He felt very unsteady, lightheaded, and his legs wanted to quit working. He didn't want to think. He didn't want to feel. He almost didn't even want to act, but the thought of going back to Master, of being caught again, propelled him to force his body to obey.

Rin's eyes darted around the parking lot. She grabbed the scarf awkwardly as it fell from Kaito's stumps, and scanned the perimiter to see if anyone was noticing their progress. Rin and Kaito walked to the yellow cab car. The window was open, and the cabbie looked at them and smiled for a moment, before his eyes fell on Kaito's bandaged stumps, and his expression froze, his face frowning in a slight look of concern.

Rin opened the car's door for Kaito and helped the bluenette to slide into the vehicle. It was hard to do; Kaito was used to being able to use his hands to help arrange himself and move his butt into the proper, seated position. When he successfully got in, albiet in a somewhat still uncomfortable postion, Rin reached over to buckle his seatbelt for him.

She accidentally knocked the metal part of the belt against one of his stumps as she tried to pull the seatbelt over Kaito's front, and Kaito let out a painful, high-pitched yelp of shock.

"I'm sorry- I'm, I'm sorry!" Rin said, aghast. Her hands were shaking again, but she managed to get the belt to lock in place. She closed the door on Kaito's side of the cab carefully, then quickly moved to the other side of the vehicle to get in, herself.

"Uh," The cabbie paused for a moment before starting the vehicle. "Do you kids need to, go to a hospital? I was hired to take you to a house a few cities over but, uh..."

Rin's ears heard the word hospital, and it wasn't a bad idea, she thought. But the important thing was to get to Gakupo's place first. Get them out of danger, and then worry about the rest after that. "Um, can you just take us to the place like you were hired, but... um..." Rin's thoughts scrambled for a moment and then settled in place, "Once we get there, can you wait for a minute before you leave?"

The cabbie nodded, keeping one wary eye on his rearview mirror, watching his two passengers in the backseat with a bit of apprehension. He turned the vehicle on, and the sound of the engine sounded like freedom to Rin. Her body relaxed in a sudden sense of relief. They were going to be okay.

The cabbie pulled smoothly out onto the low-traffic street, making his way through the intersections, stop signs, and lights. Rin looked over at Kaito, and smiled encouragingly, but silently. Kaito looked back. He cognitively knew that he should try to smile back, too, but his mouth and lips didn't want to move.

The ride was quiet, with only the background noise of the traffic passing them by, and the soft music coming from the front of the cab, when the cabbie turned the radio back on. Rin watched the outsides of the windows as they drove, watched the scenery go by. Watched the people inside their vehicles, with a growing sense of relief as none of them were Master's cars, none of the people were Master.

"It's gonna be okay," Rin whispered again, and Kaito looked over at her, his blank eyes watching her face, and he wondered which, of the pair of them, she was talking to.

The cab rolled up into a paved driveway with a nicely trimmed lawn. It looked like a good neighborhood. There was a man with long, purple hair standing in the front of the house, his arms crossed over his chest. His arms dropped down as he watched the cab pull in. It looked like he was waiting for them. Kaito glanced over at Rin again, without moving his head.

Her eyes were alight in obvious relief, focusing on the purple-haired man as he walked from the door towards the driveway. The cabbie turned the ignition off, and Rin unclipped her seat belt quickly, nearly flying out of the car, into her friend's arms, to give him a heartfelt embrace. The man smiled down at the petite blonde, and Rin gave a trepid smile back up at him.

"Are you okay?" Gakupo asked, holding Rin back away from him by her shoulders, his eyes scanning quickly her small body for injuries with a worried expression. Not seeing anything immediately damaged, his violet eyes glanced back at the cab car and the remaining person sitting in the backseat there.

Rin noticed the location of Gakupo's glance, and shook her head. "I'm okay, but..." She trailed off, not even sure how to explain the situation. Rin suddenly felt overwhelmed. "I asked the cabbie to wait for us. I'm not sure, but I think Kaito might need to go to the hospital. He... I..."

Gakupo's face darkened in worry as Rin floundered. "You don't have to give me all the details right this second, but tell me briefly what happened. Then we can decide, okay? If he's sitting upright, I'm guessing we have enough time for that, before we get too worried. Does that sound alright, Rin?"

The violette's calm, assured voice soothed Rin's anxiety enough so that she was able to regain a little of her own mental facilities. She nodded, grateful for Gakupo's solid, reliable presence. "Yes. I... thank you. I... we... we ran away, Gakupo. From our home. Master... Master has gone crazy. He cut off Kaito's hands. His hands are gone, Gakupo."

Rin's eyes filled up with tears as she admitted the fact aloud. Gakupo's eyes widened slightly, his mouth opened slightly, wordlessly. Gakupo's eyes suddenly went back to their normal size, reacting quickly, as he urgently asked, "Do you know where they are? His hands? If there's still time, we can get him to the hospital. Maybe the doctors can reattach them."

Rin's tearful eyes widened at this. There was still hope to fix this horrible thing? But... her voice was anguished as she softly replied. "I don't know. When I got there, I didn't see them anywhere. Maybe Kaito would know, but, how can I ask him that?"

"If there's a chance to save his hands, we can't afford to waste time by being sensitive. He doesn't know me, I'll ask him." Gakupo let Rin go and strode over to the side of the car door.

"Wait! Gakupo!" Rin protested weakly, but knew that as hard as it would be for Kaito to be asked such a thing, that it was his only chance. Rin's eyes shimmered and she clutched her hand to her chest as Gakupo opened the car door, looked to the front of the car briefly, and asked as politely as he could if the cabbie could take a brief walk so he could ask Kaito a private question for a moment.

The cabbie frowned at this, not wanting to leave his vehicle. However, from the unusual situation with the boy who apparently had no hands... he shook his head to himself for a second, and got out of the vehicle.

"I'll be back shortly. Keep in mind that my time here while I'm waiting is still on the clock. You're paying for it, got that?"

Gakupo nodded his acknowledgement, and turned to face Kaito's blank, pale... too pale... face. "Tell me where your hands are," Gakupo said in a quiet, blunt voice that could not be argued with. Kaito's body began to shake badly. His eyes welled up with tears and he stared silently back into Gakupo's purple eyes, not saying a thing.

"I know you're upset. You're probably in shock. I know enough about basic first aid to figure out that much. But this is important. If we have your hands, we might be able to reattach them. Now. Tell me. Where are your hands?" Gakupo's expression was not unkind, but Kaito could tell he was insistent. Kaito's face crumpled up further.

"They're gone," Kaito whispered in a broken voice.

"Gone where? Do you know where they are right now?" Gakupo prodded further, feeling the anxiety of wasted time.

"Master..." Kaito's whisper broke off for a moment. Gakupo was about to question him further when Kaito finished his statement, "...ate them."

"Oh," Gakupo's eyes widened in horror, and his statement was more a shocked noise than a reply to Kaito's statement. Gakupo wondered if he should say something like, "I'm sorry," but the statement seemed petty to him. Gakupo tried to regain his wits, but they were rattled.

"Listen. Kaito, right? I need to take a look at them. Your... uh, arms. Rin told me that you might need a hospital. But..." Gakupo trailed off. Kaito was silent a moment, then raised his stumps up for Gakupo's inspection.

Gakupo shook his head, briefly. "No, not here. In the house. If it looks bad, I'll call an ambulance to get us there. But I don't think we should do this outside, where other people can see. Not to mention the risk of infection. I'm going to need to wash my hands first. Do you need help getting out?"

Kaito was quiet a moment, then nodded his head, casting his eyes downwards again and putting his arms down. Gakupo nodded back at Kaito and reached forward, undoing the seat belt. He put his hand underneath Kaito's armpit with a gentle strength, helping the bluenette struggle up out of the backseat of the car. Gakupo watched the exhaustion and stress on Kaito's blank face with a deep, unhappy, rather worried frown.

"Gakupo..?" Rin's voice asked anxiously.

"Get the cabbie, Rin. Take some money out of my wallet, and pay him whatever his fare is owed, include a tip. We're going to go inside." Gakupo dug out his wallet from his pocket with one hand, while his other steadied Kaito. He handed the slim, black leather wallet to Rin and started to help Kaito inside.

"But- his-?" Rin's uncertain voice asked as she took the wallet.

"No," was all Gakupo said as he turned away from the small blonde female. Rin's hand clenched hard around the wallet. Her eyes picked out the cabbie, who was leaning against the far side of the house and smoking a cigarette while he waited for them. Rin looked down at the ground, then back up again, and walked over to where the man stood.

"How much do we owe you?" Rin asked, quietly.


	7. Chapter 7

It was pretty bad, Gakupo had to admit, as his eyes roved over the neat, blood-encrusted stitches on Kaito's arm stubs. The only silver lining to the whole gruesome spectacle was that it looked like Rin's Master had done a good job in sterilizing the wounds and stitching the blue-haired Vocaloid back up.

Gakupo wondered if Rin's Master had some sort of medical background. He was pretty sure that if just anyone tried to do this sort of procedure... this sort of... amputation, that the blue-haired Vocaloid would have bled out. Gakupo sighed unhappily, his eyes glancing at Kaito's averted blue eyes.

"I don't think you should go to the hospital," Gakupo finally stated, applied another liberal coat of antiseptic to each of Kaito's wrists, and began to rewrap the injuries with clean bandages. Rin gaped at the violette as he quietly worked.

"Are- what are you saying?! Look at his injuries! They're way, way worse. He needs medical attention," Rin jumped up out of her seat in protest, spreading her hands out wide as if to make a point, her high voice going a little shrill. Gakupo didn't blame her. The sight of Kaito's injuries was pretty rattling.

Kaito flinched slightly as Rin raised her voice and shouted.

"Rin, be quiet a moment," Gakupo quietly reprimanded her, making a pointed glance at Kaito's bowed head. Rin stayed standing, her mouth still hanging open for a moment, then closed her mouth and quietly sat back down at the dining table. Gakupo gathered his thoughts for a moment, then continued speaking.

"Listen. I know you want to help your friend. I understand that. But you're not thinking straight. If he goes to the hospital, you're forgetting one important thing: the Vocaloid registry. The instant the hospital scans his chip, they'll be required by law to alert your Master that he's been hospitalized for his injuries. It looks pretty bad, but I don't think it's life-threatening. As long as he doesn't sucumb to his shock, I think that with a lot of time and recouperation, he's going to be able to pull through this trauma. But if your Master gets back ahold of him..."

Gakupo trailed off, sighed, and leaned back from the table, crossing his arms over his chest. Rin looked like she wanted to argue, but Gakupo knew that the rising, helpless anger he saw in her clear blue eyes was not really directed at him.

"How could Master /do/ something like this?" Rin hissed out between her teeth, her fear starting to convert into anger. The situation was almost unreal, almost unbelievable. Her mind flashed back to Master's strange smile earlier that afternoon, when Rin had excitedly conveyed the news about a new ice cream shop opening. Could someone really fake it like that?

"I'm sorry, Rin. I know how excited you were to get purchased. But I think... your Master is a very sick man," Gakupo didn't really know what else to say, other than that. Rising, he looked down at the two despondant Vocaloids seated at his own Master's table.

"Why don't I get us something to drink? You've both been through a lot. Calm down, take some time to get your bearings. You can stay here as long as you need to. My Master won't be back for a few weeks at least, but even if he was home, I'm certain he wouldn't send you away. There's milk, cola, or fresh water," Gakupo offered.

Rin looked at Gakupo oddly. "You're not offering us tea? You always offer tea to the exclusion of everything else, whenever I visited you in the past."

Gakupo looked back at the petite blonde female blandly and stated, "I think it would be difficult for us to drink anything hot right now."

Rin's eyes widened. She stared down at the table. "I... of course. I didn't even think of that. Can I have milk?" She said in a strained tone and tried not to stare at Kaito as she replied.

"Kaito? You need to have something to drink, too," Gakupo's firm voice prodded. After a long moment, Kaito's creaky voice answered, "Water."

Gakupo nodded and left the table, going into the kitchen, and filling three glasses; two of water, one of cold milk. He juggled the three glasses in his two hands and returned to his guests who were sitting in silence.

Gakupo set both Rin's and Kaito's glasses down in front of the blonde-haired Vocaloid female. "Rin?" Gakupo prompted. Rin nodded and picked up the glass of water for Kaito.

"Have a sip of water, Kaito, okay?" Rin ventured and held the glass gently against the bluenette's dry lips. Kaito drank a small sip, and Rin waited a moment, then tipped the glass again, letting him have another. Kaito's eyes refused to meet hers, staring stubbornly downwards in what was probably shame.

"Will the couch be okay for you tonight, Rin? Master only has me, so Kaito can take Master's room. I think he needs to have a bed. If it's uncomortable for you, I can take the couch, and you can take my room, though," Gakupo offered into the silence.

"Thanks, but the couch will be fine," Rin smiled a ghost of a smile in gratitude to Gakupo's consideration, although her eyes were still burning in helpless anger. "I really owe you for this, Gakupo. I don't know what we're going to do. We don't even have any of our things with us. Even our clothes... everything is still left back there at Master's house." Rin frowned, and Gakupo could sort of guess where her thoughts were at.

"I don't think you should worry about that right now. You're here, safe with me. The things that you left behind are just things." Gakupo said, reasonably. Rin was quiet for a little while, and Gakupo left well enough alone, until she began to speak again.

"I was so afraid, on our way here. I thought at any moment, that Master would appear, and take us away, do something horrible to us. But... I'll bet Master hasn't realized we're even missing yet. I think... I think I should go home," Rin continued, a plan crystallizing in her head. "I can pack up a few things, just our basic belongings, and get out, quickly. I'm sure I can manage to do it quietly enough so that Master won't notice."

"No, Rin," Gakupo was frowning deeply, displeased at her plan. "It's not worth risking yourself, just to get some clothes and other things, no matter how inconvenient it may be, to be without them. Nothing in that house can't be replaced. You should stay here, and leave it alone."

"Not everything in there can be replaced," Rin's quiet voice replied. "There's something I don't want to leave behind. I know I was scared when we came through the door, Gakupo, but I really... I don't want to leave that behind. I'm losing everything today. My Master, my home... I don't want to lose that, too." Rin lowered her eyes again, knowing that she sounded selfish as she explained herself, and feeling like maybe Gakupo was right, it was a bad idea.

But, it had been less than an hour since she had just been speaking normally with Master. He probably didn't plan to even check on Kaito until it was later in the night... he wouldn't even know that Rin knew what had happened. And she would be quiet, stealthy... he wouldn't see her as she picked up a few of their important belongings. She was sure she could do it. And she needed the normality of getting their things back.

"No, Rin," Gakupo said quietly, decisively. But a flare of rebellion was in Rin's eyes, and she stared him down. Gakupo sighed. He felt like he was sighing a lot this afternoon. "It's a bad idea, I am telling you. This is the wrong time to get stubborn. I know what that look in your eyes means."

"I'm going," Rin said through gritted teeth. "I can't just run away from this, and leave everything behind."

"If you're really that dead set on going," Gakupo finally said, surrendering with great displeasure, "Then I am going with you. You are not going back to that house alone."

"No way. I'm not risking you, too. If you came, it will be harder for me to be stealthy. Besides, you can't leave Kaito alone," Rin said, her mouth set in determination. Now that her fear was calming, her stubbornness was coming to its head. "Promise me."

"I do not approve of this course of action, Rin," Gakupo said, scowling his worst expression at her. Rin just stared back, unflinching, and refused to back down. Gakupo tossed his hair back in frustration. "...Fine. I promise. But I'm not happy about this. I think it's a stupid move. I also think you're an idiot, for even /considering/ this fool plan."

Rin got up from the table, leaving her untouched milk glass next to Kaito's water glass. "I'm going to call the cab company back up. I won't ask you to pay for it. I still have Master's wallet," Rin paused. "Look, don't worry... I'll be safe. And I'll be back before you know it."

"You'd better be," Gakupo frowned again, but his empty threat was more of a request than anything else.


	8. Chapter 8

Rin felt a growing apprehension in the pit of her stomach as the cab passed the "Welcome to Town" sign and drew nearer to Master's house. She was starting to debate the wisdom in what she planned to do. Gakupo's voice echoed in her ears, scolding her stupidity. Rin clenched her hands together and gritted her teeth. No. She would not run away. She was going to get what was hers. And then she was getting out of that house, forever.

As the cab turned the corner that went to her street, Rin took a deep breath, then another. Her eyes watched like a hawk as Master's house came into view.

Rin started to laugh to herself, a slightly crazy laugh of pure relief. The car was gone. Master must have gone out. Blind luck must be on her side. Rin offered up a random thought of thanks, and felt herself smile slightly, a little giddy with relief.

The cabbie looked back at her oddly as he pulled into the driveway, wondering what was so funny.

"Please wait here for five minutes. I'll be back out right away," Rin instructed as the driver told her her total bill. The cabbie glanced sideways at her, as if to question that she might stiff him on the bill, but Rin ignored it and opened the car door, sprinting to the house.

The door was left unlocked, and Rin sighed, glad that she wouldn't have to hunt around for the spare key. It would make things easier, not to mention faster. With a quick turn of her wrist, Rin slipped inside, and closed the door behind her.

Moving quickly, Rin went to the kitchen first, grabbing a large, black plastic trashbag from underneath the sink. Her eyes caught on the newly washed plate Master had left in the dish drainer. It was the only thing in it. She walked swiftly to Kaito's room first.

Not being too particular about what she grabbed, Rin made sure at least to take a few articles of each of Kaito's clothing. Socks, pants, shirts. Underwear. Rin frowned again and shivered once more, an unpleasant memory flashing through her head. She shook her head, glanced around to room to see if anything else looked particularly important. Nothing did.

Rin lifted the black garbage bag that was partially full of Kaito's clothes down the hall to her own room. She hurridly grabbed clothes for herself, and also grabbed her toiletries. She shoved everything rudely into the bag, not worrying about whether things got wrinkled.

Rin's hand reached out to grab the prize she had really come back for. The glass frame held a picture of herself, Gakupo, and four other Vocaloids. They were the Vocaloids she had lived with at the store, before they had all been purchased by their various different Masters. In the picture, they were all smiling and posing cutely together.

Rin's eyes teared up slightly as she clutched the picture in her small hand. She had managed to keep contact with Gakupo, and two of the others, but the rest of the crew in the picture had disappeared from her life when they walked out of the store's front door. This picture was all she had left of them, and she didn't want to forget her friends' faces.

Rin's mask of determination froze as she heard the sound of a car door slamming from outside. A chill ran down her spine, and she mentally yelled at herself to hurry up. 'Maybe it's just the cabbie, taking a cigarette break,' Rin's mind thought frantically, but she pushed the clothes in the bag down roughly and twisted the top of the bag to get a good grip on it, her heart racing with sudden dread fear.

Rin turned to leave her room. ...The sound of the front door opening. Closing. Rin froze. Soft footsteps heading her way. Her eyes grew large, and she looked around quickly, as if to find someplace to hide.

Master was in her doorway.

"Hello, Rin," Master smiled his strange smile down at the blonde Vocaloid female, and spoke quietly. "I was worried. You were gone for so long. Where did you go to, Rin?"

Rin's heart was trying to beat its way out of her chest. She tried to put on a fake, cheery smile, and laughed, but the laugh sounded nervous, as her eyes darted around for a means of escape. "Oh, I, uh, I, went, back outside, to, uh, for a little while to-"

"To pick up the shopping bags you left in the neighbor's garage?" Master smiled down at her. Rin's blood ran icy cold. She took a step backwards, the picture frame tumbling out of her hand to fall on the floor.

Master took a quiet step into her room.

...

"She's taking too long," The cabbie checked his clock again. 'Five minutes? Try seventeen.' In annoyance, he opened his car's door and allowed it to slam shut, as if to voice his displeasure at being kept waiting. He strode to the door and banged his fist against it, knocking loudly, irritated.

A minute went by, and the vein in the cabbie's forehead pulsed. He knocked again, even louder this time, rattling the door.

"I know you're in there! I saw you get out of the fucking car and walk into the house! Get your ass out here and pay your damn tab! I'm not working a charity, here!" The cabbie paused and huffed in great irritation.

He banged on the door a few more times, but there wasn't a single sound coming from inside the house, and no one appeared to answer his pissed off demands for payment. Casting a disgruntled, resentful look at the door, he banged hard, one last time, causing the door to shake on its hinges, before turning and getting back into his cab, slamming the door behind him.

This was the last time he was going to allow some cute girl to promise to be 'right back in five minutes' without paying his ass first. He turned the ignition on, and backed out of the driveway, cursing under his breath.


	9. Chapter 9

"She's taking too long," Gakupo complained quietly under his breath, and checked the clock on the wall for the upteenth time. He stared at the now-warm glass of milk that Rin had left on the table in her haste to leave. Gakupo's eyes narrowed.

Kaito jolted as Gakupo abruptly stood up from the table, his chair scraping the floor nosily as he moved. "Sorry," The violette muttered to the bluenette, who stared unsmiling back up at him. "It's just, she should have been back by now. She should have been back..." Gakupo unconsciously clenched his fists in impotent anger. "I shouldn't have let her go back there."

If anything happened to Rin, it was his fault. Gakupo's chest clenched tightly with anxious worry that he could do nothing about. Kaito didn't move his eyes from Gakupo's face, his own anxiety and worry mirrored in his frightened blue eyes. Gakupo exhaled loudly, shook his head.

"I'm going to go find her," Gakupo decided. He turned to go pick up the phone and call the cab company back. 'They're earning their keep, today,' He thought without humor.

"N-no!" Kaito's sudden outburst made Gakupo's eyes snap back up. The bluenette struggled unsteadily to get to his feet, almost tripping over the chair as he did so. Gakupo felt like he should go and help Kaito, but his violet eyes were filled with sudden anger.

"What do you mean, 'no'?! Isn't she your friend, too? Are you just going to leave her alone with a lunatic who cuts off people's hands?" Gakupo didn't intend to lose his temper, but his worry exploded out regardless of his consent.

Kaito's face crumpled in helplessness, terror, despair. "That's, that's not... I..." His slim shoulders shook for a moment. Gakupo put his hands on his hips and glared at Kaito, feeling a brief moment of hatefulness. Rin had put herself on the line to save this guy, and he repays her by letting her down?

"I... I told her to run," Kaito continued speaking, his voice breaking. "She wouldn't... leave me behind." Tears started to well up in his eyes. Gakupo's expression slacked, as comprehension dawned.

"You don't want me to go and get hurt too," The violette guessed, his voice softening in pain. "But, Kaito, there's no way I can just leave my friends alone when they need me."

"Please!" Kaito begged, and lifted his hands up to try to grab Gakupo's shirt collar, to shake some sense into his fellow male Vocaloid. Kaito stopped, his arm stubs in midair, as he focused on them, then hugged his arms back to his chest, careful not to touch against the sensitive, bandaged ends.

"Don't... leave me alone," Kaito quietly asked, tears falling down his face. He tried to rub his cheek against his shirt to wipe them away. Gakupo's heart ached to watch him. The bluenette couldn't even dry his own tears properly.

"I won't leave you alone," Gakupo said, feeling a lump in his throat. "I promised I wouldn't. Remember? I'll call a friend, have them stay with you while I go check on Rin. I know you probably don't want many people to see you right now, but..."

"..." Kaito didn't have anything to say. He looked down at the floor miserably. Gakupo raised his hand and placed it on Kaito's shoulder until the bluenette raised his head to look at Gakupo again.

"Just hang in there, okay?" Gakupo couldn't force a smile, but he wanted to let Kaito know he wasn't alone in this. He wanted the bluenette to know that somebody had his back. Kaito nodded, but his face was still miserable.

"Okay," Gakupo answered for Kaito. He turned and picked up the phone again, but this time not to call the cab company. After a few rings, the other end of the phone picked up.

...

"Yes," A monotone, bored-sounding voice answered the other end of the line. Taito. Good. Then they were probably both home.

"It's Gakupo," Gakupo replied, identifying himself.

"Oh. You want Mikuo?" The bored sounding voice asked after a brief pause.

"Actually, I have a favor to ask of you both. It might be a little dangerous. I know it's asking a lot, but do you think the two of you could help me out?" Gakupo asked.

"I guess that depends on what you want."

"Hey, who's on the line?" A voice asked from a distance over the line.

"It's Gakupo. He wants a favor. This guy is kind of bossy, why are you friends, again?"

"Give me that phone," The distanced voice spoke again, sounding annoyed. "Hello? Gakupo?" The voice was clearer now.

"Mikuo, listen, I have a problem," Gakupo started to say.

"Oh, right. Hello, Mikuo, I missed you. How was your day? The weather is nice out, isn't it? By the way, I finished that book you lent to me A MONTH AGO, I am ready to RETURN IT now," The sweet voice on the other end of the line continued the conversation by itself. Gakupo sweatdropped.

"Ah, I'm sorry, but, this is a kind of emergency. Of course I want to talk. I haven't finished that book, yet, though," Gakupo admitted with a somewhat guilty expression on his face.

"Figures... what do you mean, emergency?" Mikuo's playfully scolding voice took on a more serious note. Gakupo's voice grew more grave as he replied.

"It's about Rin. I think she's in some trouble. Is there any way you and Taito could come meet me, and bring your Master's car? My Master's is at the airport." Gakupo asked.

"Isn't that the blonde Vocaloid you liked, back from the store?" Taito's voice ghosted over the line as he was apparently listening in to the conversation.

"Yes," Gakupo answered tersely for Mikuo. The teal-haired male's voice sputtered through the phone as Gakupo continued. "Not to push, but, if you can't come, I need to know it now."

"Yeah... yeah, of course. I mean, you already know we're pretty close to you. We can be there in a few minutes." Mikuo's voice sounded concerned, recovering quickly from his embarassment. "I want to ask right now, but... just hang on, we'll come right now."

"Says who?" Taito's voice sounded from over the end of the line, but Mikuo had hung up the phone on Gakupo, and the violette couldn't respond to the question. Gakupo put the phone back on the hook, glancing back over at Kaito once more. The bluenette turned his head away, refusing to meet Gakupo's eyes.

'Yeah, well, I think it's stupid of me, too, but I'm not just going to sit here and wait, not when there's something that maybe I can still do.' Gakupo told himself.


	10. Chapter 10

"Hurry up," Gakupo said, unintentionally and somewhat uncharacteristically being a little rude, as he opened the front door with anxious impatience. A teal-haired man and deep-violet-haired man were still in the progress of walking up to knock on the door. Gakupo had beaten them to it, opening the door before either one of them could even raise a hand to knock.

Mikuo frowned at his friend's unusual manner. He glanced at Taito, but the other Vocaloid just continued to look bored, unconsciously fiddling around with his ice pick in his hands, as Mikuo tried unsuccessfully to catch his fellow Vocaloid's distracted gaze.

"Honey, I'm home," Taito said quietly with a little smile as he stepped into Gakupo's Master's house and looked around, suddenly interested. His eyes fell on Kaito, who was staring with wide eyes back at him. Taito took in the bandages on Kaito's arms, and let loose a low whistle.

"So that's your kink, huh?" Taito rudely smirked at Gakupo. The 'noble samurai' had a thing for the unusual ones? Funny stuff. Gakupo's face clouded in the beginnings of a dark rage. Taito smiled widely as he noticed the change in Gakupo's facial expression. "Hit a nerve, huh?"

"It's not like that. He's the other one of Rin's Master's Vocaloids," Gakupo bit off, feeling more than a little insulted, furious on Kaito's behalf. What the hell kind of a reaction is that, for a person who sees somebody whose hands have been chopped off? But, for nearly the very same reasons that made Taito roughshod, Gakupo needed him right now. So he tried to bite back his anger, and explained in as short detail as he could.

"His name is Kaito. His, and Rin's Master, has gone insane. His hands were chopped off by their Master. Rin went back to the house, to grab some things, before their Master noticed they were missing. But she hasn't come back. And it's been nearly two hours, now." Gakupo's voice was bitter as he described the situation.

A stunned silence from Mikuo was shattered with a burst of yelling, "You let her go back alone?"

Mikuo grabbed Gakupo by the collar and slammed him against the wall. "Are you fucking stupid?" The sudden rage from the normally joking, somewhat docile teal-haired Vocaloid male should have shocked Gakupo, but all he felt was a twisting in his stomach as Mikuo's words struck home.

"She refused to let me come. She said... it doesn't matter what she said. You're right, I shouldn't have let her go. No matter the circumstances. If anything bad has happened to her, it's my fault," Gakupo's voice was hard, his face a mask of stony self-loathing. Mikuo's eyes were open wide, still enraged, but he snarled a little and pushed Gakupo away, releasing his grip in a way that screamed his disgust.

"You should have called right away. Why did you wait so long?" Mikuo said through clenched teeth. Gakupo's face stared back at him, unchanging. There was nothing he could say to defend himself. He had let Rin leave.

"Damn it," Mikuo snarled and ran a hand through his hair in disbelief. "Well, why the hell are we wasting our time talking about it? We need to go after her."

"I need you to stay here with Kaito. I want Taito to go with me. It's the reason I called. I was originally just going to go after her by myself. But I think I might need backup. And that's not you, in this case." Gakupo hated saying the words. Mikuo was a reliable guy. Gakupo knew that Mikuo had his back. But this was an unhinged Master he might be going to face.

Gakupo's eyes fell on Taito's ice pick, which he was still twirling around, like a miniature baton. Taito was still staring thoughtfully at Kaito, a kind of half-smirk that dropped a little bit from his face after a moment, when Kaito didn't meet his eyes back. Taito turned his head at Gakupo's glance.

"He may be pushy, but he's not stupid," Taito offered in high light voice, shrugging his shoulders at Mikuo's displeased expression.

"I'm not sure I agree with that," Mikuo growled under his breath. "How can you think I'm just going to leave Rin, and wait here like a babysitter?"

Gakupo noticed Kaito flinching slightly at Mikuo's words. A small spark of anger flared up in his heart amidst the flames of his guilt over letting Rin leave the house.

"It's because I trust you, Mikuo. I promised Rin I wouldn't leave him alone," Gakupo said quietly.

"... I kind of hate you right now," Mikuo offered, his face growing darker, as Gakupo's words got to him. With a sigh of frustration, he flopped himself down bodily on Gakupo's Master's couch. "When you get back, I'm going to punch the crap out of your stupid face. You better make sure you don't come back unless you have got Rin with you."

Gakupo glanced at Taito, a silent question. The darker-purple-haired man tossed his head to the side slightly, jingled the car keys in his hand, and turned to walk out the door.

"I guess that means 'yes,'" Gakupo muttered to himself. He paused in front of Kaito. "I'm not going to ask if it's alright with Mikuo being here. You can trust him, he's solid. If you need anything, just ask. I'll be back, as soon as I can be." Pausing a moment longer, Gakupo placed his hand on Kaito's flinching shoulder, representing his solidarity with the silent bluenette.

Kaito refused to look up or meet Gakupo's eyes. Gakupo knew that he couldn't waste any more time trying to convince Kaito it would be okay. His hand lifted from Kaito's shoulder, and he moved it impulsively to muss the bluenette's hair slightly. Gakupo turned, walked away towards the door. As Gakupo's hand lifted from Kaito's head, the bluenette raised his head and watched Gakupo leaving, closing the door behind him.

"So..." Mikuo's voice asked from the couch. "You wanna watch some TV, or something, while we wait here like the good little housewives we are?" The words had some bitterness to them, but Kaito felt comforted by their sound in the air. Despite Mikuo's obviously being pissed off, there was an atmosphere of easy friendliness from Mikuo, like he felt that Kaito was just another one of his buddies... not a freak, whose hands had been cut off by his own Master.

His steps were unsteady, and Kaito was still limping pretty badly, but he sat down awkwardly on the couch cushion farthest away from Mikuo. The teal-haired male glanced at the bluenette, and raised the remote control, clicking the TV on.

"Hope you like infomercials," Mikuo grumbled. "Hell if I'm going to watch a show that I like under circumstances like these."


	11. Chapter 11

"Directions?" Taito asked as Gakupo got into the car. Gakupo nodded.

The trip was quiet, too quiet, and neither of the Vocaloid males turned on the radio. Gakupo's mind was occupied, trying to figure out the best way to do this. If Rin was still in the house, and her Master was there, he probably wouldn't let Gakupo just come in and do as he pleased. Gakupo had met the man several times, and they were about evenly matched in height and probably in strength. It wouldn't be easy to take the man down, if it came to it.

Not to mention that the law was on Rin's Master's side. If it came down to a physical confrontation, a Vocaloid would always be blamed before a human being would be. Gakpo's counternance darkened further with the directions of his thoughts. He stared out the window, giving Taito directions to the house as they were necessary.

Rin's Master's car was in the driveway. Gakupo turned his head to look at Taito. "Stay in the car, unless you hear me shout for you. If you hear me, come inside. I don't know whether Rin is even in there or not, but if this gets physical, I'm going to need you."

Taito smirked his odd little half-smile at Gakupo's tough words. The Samurai had balls, he'd give him that. He nodded his head briefly, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel as Gakupo got out of the car and approached Rin's Master's front door.

Steeling himself, Gakupo knocked firmly. He almost didn't expect a response. Would he have to bust the door down?

A small sound from inside, and the doorknob turned. The door swung inwards, and Gakupo braced himself for the confrontation. Gakupo blinked, there was no one- wait- his purple eyes looked downwards. A pale, skinny, white-haired Vocaloid kid was standing there, hanging onto the doorknob.

"Hello! How can I help you, sir?" A cheery, exuberent, excited voice burst out of the young boy. Gakupo felt flummoxed. Who was this?

"Who are you?" Gakupo blurted out in demand, his mind not catching up to his words quickly enough. The younger Vocaloid male cocked his head cutely and smiled up at Gakupo again.

"My name is Piko! Master just purchased me from the store. This is one of my first responsibilities as Master new Vocaloid!" Piko proclaimed, seeming proud of himself. Gakupo's eyes were now full of concern.

"Piko... can I come inside? I'm here to see Rin, is she here?" Gakupo asked.

"Who is Rin?" Piko asked, stepping aside for Gakupo, his small face a little confused.

"The blonde female Vocaloid that your Master has. Is she around here? Have you seen her?" Gakupo's heart felt heavy. This was not going well. Why did Rin's Master have this young boy? Rin had not mentioned anyone but Kaito when he had spoken to her a few hours ago. Did that mean that Piko had been purchased between the time Rin had left Gakupo's house and just now? Gakupo felt increasingly uneasy.

"I don't know her. I thought I was Master's only Vocaloid. Are you friends with my Master?" Piko inquired politely. "Master is in the bath right now, he told me not to disturb him. I drew the bathwater," Piko admitted proudly, with another cute grin.

'Ah, perfect.' Gakupo thought. 'I should be able to check the rooms, then. But if this kid hasn't seen her...' He frowned lightly, troubled. "Yes... we are friends. Piko, I am going to visit Rin's room, down the hall, while waiting for your Master to get out of the bath. Okay?"

"Um... okay," Piko nodded, clearly uncertain as to how he was supposed to treat a guest. He tagged along behind Gakupo as the purple-haired Vocaloid went slowly through the house, peeking in every room. Silence, emptiness, in each of them. Piko was regarding him with a slight frown.

'Probably wondering if I am Master's friend, why I am checking each of the rooms, instead of going straight to the one I claimed I needed to go to,' Gakupo thought to himself as he reached Rin's room. It, too, was empty. Gakupo paused, the heavy feeling in his heart growing stronger. He stepped inside.

There was a large, black trashbag in the middle of the room. Something cracked under his foot as Gakupo walked towards it. He looked down, picked up the picture frame that was lying on the ground. Stepping on it had shattered the glass, but his purple eyes widened as he took in the photograph of himself, Rin, and the other Vocaloids that had been in stock at the store around the time they had been purchased by their respective Masters.

It was originally a promotional photograph, designed to lure in buyers by showing off the store's current merchandise. How had Rin gotten her little hands on it? Even Gakupo didn't have a picture of the six of them together. His heart clenched in his chest. Was this what Rin had come back for? The thing that she didn't want to leave behind...

Gakupo shook the glass out into the trash bag, then his eyes widened once more as he took in the clothes that were inside the bag. His teeth clenched together and he tucked the photo carefully away inside of his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Piko's high-pitched voice sounded from the doorway, disapproving. "You're not stealing, are you?" Gakupo turned his head to look, and his eyes widened again as he took in the movement of a larger, taller person who was standing directly behind Piko.

The man was wearing a bath towel around his waist. His short hair was slicked back, still wet from water. Rin's Master met Gakupo's eyes and smiled, and Gakupo felt the pit of his stomach dropping. The last time he had seen the man, he hadn't had the "off" vibe that he was projecting now. There was definitely something wrong, here. Even if Rin hadn't told him, Gakupo would have known.

"Of course he's not stealing," Rin's Master said. "Hello, Gakupo. It's nice to see you again. How have you been doing?"

"Ah, yes, I... stepped on the frame, so I'm just taking it until I can replace it. Rin will be angry with me if I break her things and don't fix them, you know," Gakupo smiled back, relieved that he possessed an excellent poker face as he lied through his teeth. "Actually, I came by, with my friend, who is outside in the car, to see if Rin was around."

Rin's Master stared at Gakupo for a long moment, then flashed that strange little smile again. "I'm sorry, Gakupo. If you had called ahead, I could have told you that Rin is no longer here."

"Where is she?" Gakupo controlled his voice so he wouldn't growl the question like he wanted to, but he could hear the slight strain in his voice at the effort.

"Unfortunately, I had to return her to the store. She was... malfunctioning," Rin's Master said through his unchanging smile, his eyes were hard, though, cold, as if trying to determine whether Gakupo's presence here was a coincidence. "It's unlike you to visit without calling first."

"Well, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing," Gakupo lied smoothly, "My friend and I were driving nearby, and I thought I would drop in to say hello. What do you mean, 'malfunctioning?'"

"Ahh, I see," Rin's Master continued to smile, and his eyes travelled down Gakupo's frame. Gakupo repressed a shudder. "It's a shame your model wasn't still in stock. I've purchased a replacement, but to be honest, I've always admired your beauty a little. I'm envious of your Master. I'll bet you're a good, obedient Vocaloid. Not like Rin. That's why I had to 'return' her."

The smooth voice was a little sultry. Gakupo felt very, very uncomfortable. He needed to get the man to talk, to tell him about Rin, to confess if he was keeping her anywhere. He needed to get Piko out of there, too. The young Vocaloid had no idea that the new Master who had purchased him was a monster.

"Ah. I, thank you," Gakupo managed to get out, feeling uncomfortably disgusted at the creepy, random compliment, and feeling further alarmed for Rin at her Master's final statement. Piko was scowling at Gakupo, clearly jealous of his new Master's attention.

"If you care to, you can keep that photograph. I don't think Rin will be needing it back. Well, then, shall I have Piko see you out? I would do so myself, but as you can see," Rin's Master indicated the low-riding bath towel, "I'm not exactly dressed for company right now. Gakupo..." His voice purred a little as Rin's Master continued, "Rin's no longer here, but if you ever wish to visit me, you are more than welcome to. I think I would enjoy your company."

It took everything Gakupo had to keep his face in a neutral smile, and reply, "That is very kind of you. I may take you up on that offer."

'Yeah, while I'm searching your house from floor to ceiling. Where the hell did you take her? Is she still alive?' Gakupo's mind was screaming at him to do something, say something, to somehow get the information he needed out of Rin's Master. He couldn't leave without the blonde-haired Vocaloid female. But she was clearly not in the house.

Gakupo debated with himself about whether he could take the human male down, force the information out of him somehow, but then Rin's Master smiled one last time at the violette and turned, walking down the hallway to his Master bedroom, and closing the door, and his chance was gone. Gakupo's clenched fists shook in repressed rage.

"The front door is this way," Piko alerted Gakupo in his high, sweet voice, directing him out, still sulking. Gakupo's body stubbornly refused to obey him for a moment, but at Piko's stare, he made his legs move resentfully forward. Gakupo's heart felt like it was being crushed with every step away from Rin's room he took. He glanced down at Piko.

Kneeling suddenly, Gakupo took Piko's shoulders in his hands, whispering urgently, careful that the Master of the house not hear them talking.

"Listen, Piko, this is very important. You are not safe here. I know you are excited to have been purchased, but your Master is a bad, and a dangerous man. Come with me, right now. It is not safe for you to stay here."

Piko's eyes widened, and he wrenched himself away from Gakupo's grip. "You're lying!" Piko shouted, his face upset. "Master purchased me!" Gakupo set his jaw, glancing in paranoia back down the hall at Piko's volume. He reached his hand out again to grab the boy's arm, trying to guide him outside of the front door along with Gakupo.

"You need to trust me. It's not safe here for you. Your Master is going to do something terrible to you if I leave you here." Gakupo hissed under his breath, willing the boy to understand the severity of his situation.

"Let go, let go! You don't know anything. You're just a stranger! And I don't think you're Master's friend at all!" Piko twisted violently away from Gakupo, slipping out of his grasp and running back down the hallway. The door to the Master's bedroom opened and shut firmly behind the young Vocaloid. Gakupo stared helplessly, dismayed. He looked down at his hands.

Couldn't he protect anything with these hands? Gakupo's face clenched up in a feeling of anguish.

...

"No go?" Taito asked as Gakupo quietly got back into the car. The violette's normally smooth, clear face was a complicated mass of stressful emotions. The long-haired violette shortly shook his head. He stayed still for a moment, then slammed his fist against the dashboard in frustration. Taito just watched quietly, then turned his eyes back to the front of the windshield, turning the car back on.

"Anywhere else you wanna try to look?" The shorter-haired, darker-purple-haired Vocaloid offered up into the tense silence.

"No clues," Gakupo replied shortly, angry with himself, angry with Rin's Master, frustrated, and feeling a sense of despairing hopelessness. "...I need to get back to Kaito. Rin said 'don't leave him alone' to me." Gakupo was silent, wondering if that was going to be the last thing the petite blonde Vocaloid was ever going to say to him. His face crumpled.

Taito pretended not to notice as helpless teardrops fell onto Gakupo's clenched hands. He smacked the radio on with his hand, letting the music be their distraction as he drove them back towards Gakupo's Master's house.

"Stop here, a moment," The soft words made Taito's eyes turn back toward Gakupo. His face was dry, having been wiped free of tears, a stony mask of resolve taking their place. Taito glanced to where Gakupo was looking at. A drugstore.

"He's gonna need some more bandages," was Gakupo's only explaination. Taito nodded, turned in, and placed the car in park. Gakupo didn't get out for a long moment, still unspeaking. Taito didn't ask.

With heavy movements, Gakupo opened the car door and went into the store. Taito's eyes followed, his normally blank face frowning once Gakupo's back was turned. Mikuo was going to be pissed.


	12. Chapter 12

Mikuo jumped up from the couch, unsettling Kaito as he heard the car pull into the driveway, and the sound of doors opening and slamming closed. The teal-haired male darted to the door, wrenching it open with an expectant look on his face. His anxious eyes grew dark as he failed to see a cute blonde head anywhere.

"Where is she?" Mikuo demanded as Gakupo silently walked up to him and stopped.

"Kaito's Master got her," Gakupo said, his facial expression tightly controlled in his classic poker face. Mikuo closed his eyes briefly. He lifted his hand and punched Gakupo's face with all the force he could muster.

The violette staggered, holding his face with both hands. Blood dripped down the front of his face from Gakupo's nose.

"The only reason it's not a punch to the gut too, is that you made it back okay," Mikuo's angry voice said quietly. Gakupo looked at his friend's eyes, his mask crumbling a little. Mikuo looked away, his expression complicated and upset.

"I'm not gonna give up," Mikuo continued after a short moment. "You didn't see her... body, right? So she might still be... okay, somewhere."

Gakupo didn't want to refute those words. He nodded, "Maybe. But her Master didn't give me any clues about where to even start looking for her. Also, there's another problem. He purchased a new Vocaloid. I couldn't... convince him to come with me, though."

Mikuo sighed, tangling his fingers through his own hair as he stared up at the sky. Taito walked towards the pair, holding Gakupo's shopping bags from the drugstore.

"Since when am I your damn servant?" Taito complained in a light voice, and shoved the bags at Gakupo's arms, walking past the pair and going into the house. Taito's purple eyes glanced towards Mikuo's face as he walked by them, not turning his head.

"What's that?" Mikuo asked in a sullen voice. "This isn't the time for shopping trips, man."

"Bandages, and some other things, to take care of Kaito's wounds," Gakupo explained. "I can't be calling you over every other moment to watch him while I go replenish our supplies at the store. It's going to take a lot of dressing changes, and a lot of antiseptic, for his injuries to heal properly."

Mikuo looked away. The bluenette had been quiet, but he had been some welcome, easy company during the waiting for Gakupo and Taito to return. Never mind that Mikuo wouldn't have been stuck there if it wasn't for Kaito... he kind of liked the dude despite himself. There was just something about the guy.

It wasn't right that somebody should do something horrific to him. Especially a somebody who was the bluenette's Master. Mikuo couldn't even imagine the sort of betrayal Kaito must be feeling. His eyes darkened.

"Are you coming back inside?" Gakupo asked, balancing the bags while trying to hold his nose closed, blood was still falling down his face.

"Yeah, but only for a second, to say bye to Kaito. After that, Taito and I are gonna cruise. Maybe somebody will have seen her, somewhere in her Master's neighborhood." Mikuo's plan was flimsy, but Gakupo nodded in an approval that was accompanied by a feeling of intense gratitude.

...

Kaito sat on the couch, not feeling any energy, his eyes following Mikuo as he ran to the door and outside. He wanted to get up, wanted to look himself, but the dropping feeling in the pit of his stomach, and the heavy numbness that was stealing through his body had robbed him of the energy he needed to do so. If Rin wasn't there when the door opened... Kaito could feel his heart crushing within his chest.

The door opened after a few long minutes. Taito walked in, took note of Kaito, and sat comfortably down on the couch next to the bluenette. He relaxed, crossing his legs and leaning back lazily, regarding Kaito out of the corner of one of his purple eyes.

"You look like shit," Taito observed. Kaito's eyes moved back to the door as they sensed more movement. His mind felt completely exhausted, like it was shutting down. But he had to see.

Gakupo and Mikuo followed Taito through the door. Kaito's eyes widened comically as they took in the sight of Gakupo's face. He shrieked, startling Taito, holding his arm stubs up near his face in horror, as the sight of the red, red blood on Gakupo's face took up the entirety of his vision.

"NO, NO NO NO!" The desperate, terrified sound of Kaito's voice was like fingernails on a blackboard. Gakupo froze, Mikuo's mouth opened and he glanced from Gakupo's bloody nose to Kaito's horrified expression, but only Taito was able to move quickly and act. He grabbed Kaito's head and pulled the bluenette against his chest bodily, with a forcefulness that refused Kaito's struggles against him.

"Clean up, idiot samurai," Taito said in a low voice, holding Kaito's head tightly against his chest so he couldn't see, couldn't see the blood. Gakupo's face was an almost comical expression, stunned at Kaito's response, but he nodded, quickly moving off to the bathroom. Taito heard the soft sound of the faucet being turned on.

Kaito went suddenly limp against Taito's arms. He started sobbing, loudly, but his body had no strength, no energy. Taito frowned a little, keeping his grip on the bluenette as Kaito cried, taking gasping breaths, against Taito's shirt. He tightened his arms around the bluenette a little.

"Don't be such a baby. It's not that bad," Taito said in his light voice, not looking up to meet Mikuo's continuing gaping expression. Kaito took a shuddering breath, but couldn't stop his tears, and just pressed his face closer against Taito's warmth, whimpering softly.

"What are you, a twelve-year old?" Taito scolded Kaito again quietly, but he didn't let go. Mikuo trepidly walked towards them, and knelt down on the floor near the couch, watching with concern.

"I'm sorry," Mikuo's voice said quietly. Taito turned his eyes at Mikuo, and raised his eyebrow, then gave his signature, quirky little half smile, but it didn't reach his purple eyes.

"Yeah, well, everybody fucks up," Taito allowed ungraciously. "Why don't you make yourself useful for once and grab me a beer or something from the fridge."

Mikuo looked mildly pissed off, "What am I? Your maid? ...Whatever. Jackass."

"I love you, too," Taito said with a slight smile as Mikuo got up off his knees to head into the kitchen. At Taito's words, he stopped for a second, then kept walking, refusing to turn his head, pretending that there wasn't a shocked blush staining his cheeks.


	13. Chapter 13

Kaito looked fragile. Gakupo looked down at the bluenette, dismayed at the thought, as Taito carefully helped him carry the unconscious Vocaloid to Gakupo's Master's bedroom. Kaito had cried himself out, Taito holding him close, until the bluenette had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion. Gakupo felt like it was his fault.

Gakupo carefully laid Kaito's arms across his chest, to allow him to cover the bluenette with a blanket up to his waist without fear of touching against his arm stubs and awakening the sleeping male with renewed pain.

"He's probably going to be doing that for a while," Taito's soft voice spoke as Gakupo stared down at the bluenette. Gakupo looked up at Taito, frowning.

"You know, freaking out. You should kind of expect it. Just saying," Taito finished, with a shrug of his slim shoulders. The dark-purple haired Vocaloid turned without another word, leaving Gakupo alone in the room with Kaito.

Gakupo reached his hand out and touched Kaito's soft blue hair. Gakupo's heart was aching for the blue-haired male. The bluenette's face was a mask of slack anguish even in his sleep. Gakupo stared down at Kaito for several long moments, wishing there was something he could do to help.

Gakupo reluctantly left the room after a moment. He didn't think Kaito would wake up for a while, and he wanted to talk with his friends- he even was starting to think of that jerk Taito as his friend, after this afternoon- before they left to canvas Rin's neighborhood.

Gakupo left the door open for Kaito, just in case.

...

Kaito opened his eyes blearily. For a brief, terrifying second, he thought he was back in the garage, on the cement floor, waiting for Master to return and take the "rest of his firsts"... whatever that meant. But the cement under his body was soft and smelled good, like fresh laundry soap. He moved his legs slightly, and comprehended that they weren't tied tightly together.

Kaito's eyes focused on the unfamiliar room. The paint was the wrong color. There was furniture he didn't know. His anxiety was almost palpable as his eyes scanned the room in fear, settling on a darkened form that was sitting, slumped, next to the bed he was laying on.

For a second, Kaito thought it was Master. The builds, the heights, were similar. But this person had long, silky hair, and Master had short hair. Kaito focused on the darkened face of the man, realizing it must be nighttime.

Gakupo's face was slack and asleep. Kaito's mind suddenly recognized the face, and it felt like a vise was being loosened from around his chest. Kaito let out a shaky sigh, and apparently it was enough to alert Gakupo, for the man's eyelashes fluttered a moment, and he opened his eyes slowly to see Kaito staring back at him.

"I have to use the bathroom," Kaito said suddenly, feeling the uncomfortable pressure in his lower belly.

"Uh... right," Gakupo's mind took a second to track. "We need to change your bandages, too. I didn't want to wake you, before. Uhhhm, are you hungry?" Gakupo stretched his back muscles and held his hand against the side of his neck, like there was a crick there.

Kaito's face clouded at the question. "...No."

"Hmm," Gakupo mumbled in response. He helped Kaito struggle up to a sitting position, holding the bluenette near his armpit to provide support and balance. The bluenette's body ached, especially his lower stomach... and the pressure in his bladdar was reminding him of that pain even more. Kaito's body was stiff, and didn't want to obey its master as he tried to swing his legs over the bed and stand.

Gakupo grabbed his shoulder as he swayed on his feet. The two male Vocaloids slowly walked towards the door. Kaito looked right, then left, not knowing where to go for the bathroom.

"It's to the right," Gakupo's quiet voice said near Kaito's ear. Kaito blushed, and trained his eyes away from the violette as they continued their walk to the facility. Gakupo opened the door for him, letting Kaito balance against his body slightly while the bluenette waited.

"I guess I should get into the habit of leaving this door open, for now," Gakupo muttered to himself, but Kaito's ears picked the words up, and he flushed again, this time in shame.

"I'm sorry," Kaito whispered throatily. "I know I'm inconveniencing you. You're not even my friend, yet you're taking care of me, looking out for me..."

"Who said you're not my friend?" Gakupo frowned at the bluenette. "Don't make me scold you. Rin doesn't have any friends who are idiots, don't start a trend now." The words were harsher than Gakupo had intended, and he sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm taking my own frustrations at my own uselessness out on you, and it isn't fair. Please forgive me, Kaito."

Kaito's eyes shimmered slightly and he stared at Gakupo's face, then cast his eyes back down. "It's not you that's useless."

"Well, we will just have to agree to disagree," Gakupo's short answer came. He helped the bluenette to the front of the toilet and flipped the seat up. Pausing in slight embarassment for the bluenette, Gakupo cleared his throat lightly. "Ahh, so, I will need to, uh, reach around front to help you get those down."

"Those" were Kaito's pants. Kaito's vision clouded again. Gakupo noticed as a slight shiver ran through the bluenette as he was silent a moment. He nodded, his face was red. It was clear that he was more embarassed than Gakupo was.

"Okay, then," Gakupo said and reached around Kaito, still letting the bluenette balance against his body as he did so, and unzipped Kaito's pants, pulling Kaito's underwear down to his hips to let him free. Gakupo was thinking in growing embarassment that there was no way Kaito would be able to aim it properly without hands to guide it, when his eyes caught on a slight shine that was trailed down Kaito's buttocks. His purple eyes widened.

"Um... I think I can just... sit on the toilet," Kaito was saying in a voice full of shame, not seeing the direction of Gakupo's gaze as he avoided the violette's eyes. Gakupo's eyes closed slightly. He tried to collect himself.

"Kaito, I'm sorry to ask you this but, did your Master do... anything else to you?" Kaito's body froze as Gakupo asked his question. The bluenette began shivering. Gakupo waited a brief moment, debating before he elaborated his question. "Did he do anything to you... 'back there'?"

Kaito's face crumpled up, and new tears welled up in his blue eyes. He took a deep breath that caused his body to shudder, and nodded once. "I'm sorry," Kaito whispered, but he didn't even know what, or to who, he was apologizing to.

Gakupo's eyes hardened. "No, I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Listen, I..." Gakupo sighed, swallowing the bile in his throat. "Would you like me to wait outside while you do your business?"

It was kind of a stupid question, but Gakupo was feeling kind of stupid, himself, at the moment. Kaito nodded again, shamed. Gakupo helped the bluenette to turn his body, sit down, and he left Kaito alone in the room.

"Call me when you're done. I'll be outside," Gakupo said, and Kaito stared religiously down at the floor until the purple-haired Vocaloid left the room.

...

'No wonder he was limping,' Gakupo realized as he leaned against the hallway wall, his arms crossed over his chest, a sense of slow rage simmering in his chest. Between Kaito's hands, Rin's disappearance, their Master's slimy, lying, creepily-smiling interaction with Gakupo, and now, this new horror... Gakupo had never before felt like he wanted to commit homicide against a human being.

He wanted to slam Kaito's Master's head against a hard wall until the man bled and sobbed, the way Kaito had sobbed into Taito's arms. He wanted to take the man and kick him, scream at him, "Where is she? What did you do with Rin?" until the man brokenly told him. ...He wanted his friend back. His noble heart ached with hurt, hate, and the desire for revenge. They were emotions foreign to the violet-haired Vocaloid male, and he embraced them utterly.

"I'm done," A quiet voice from the bathroom announced. Gakupo uncrossed his arms and announced aloud that he was coming in. Kaito still wouldn't meet his gaze. Gakupo frowned even deeper as he helped the bluenette struggle back to his feet. Gakupo wondered how long it would take Kaito to regain his balance, to get used to his new body that was going to be... different... for the rest of his life.

"Gakupo?" The voice was soft and hesitant.

"Yes?" Gakupo tried to make his voice sound calm and soothing, rather than expressing the anger simmering inside of his heart. He flushed the toilet.

"...I want to take a shower." Kaito said quietly. "Is it okay?"

Gakupo was silent for so long that Kaito felt the tips of his ears burning from shame. They both knew it was going to take Gakupo's help, if Kaito wanted to get clean in any way beyond simply standing under the running water.

"We're going to have to put plastic bags over your bandages," Gakupo's voice finally said. "They can't get wet. It might be a little awkward. And... I'm going to have to help you wash. You want to get clean... down there... don't you." It wasn't really a question. "Is that okay with you? For me to touch you there, and help you get clean?"

"I'm sorry," Kaito wished the ground would swallow him up. He was asking this man to touch his dirty, damaged, messed-up body. Of course it wasn't okay.

"Don't worry about it," Gakupo said. "It's not really... that much different than washing each others' backs at the bathhouse, but... it might frighten you. I don't want to have to remind you of what's happened but..." Gakupo struggled. "It's up to you, Kaito. What do you want to do?"

Kaito was silent. Gakupo waited unhappily, trying to be as patient as Kaito needed, allowing him time to think about it before answering.

"...Please." The word was so quiet, but it was loud enough to be heard.

Gakupo watched Kaito's face carefully, then nodded his head. "Okay, then. Um, you just got back up, but, let's have you sit back down a moment. I'm going to get your clothes off. If you change your mind at any time, it's okay. Okay, Kaito?"

The bluenette nodded, feelings of shame and gratitude warring within them. But both of those feelings were defeated by an even greater, stronger feeling, of dirtiness.


	14. Chapter 14

Gakupo turned the shower on once he had helped Kaito out of his clothes. Getting the pants off had been the easy part. The shirt, especially the arms, was the hard part. Kaito's face was tearstained again by the time they were done. Gakupo had looked at the clothing, realizing that he didn't have any clean clothes of Kaito's for the bluenette to change into.

As the water warmed up, Gakupo turned to Kaito. "I'm going to go grab some clean clothes for you. They might be a little big, but you're close enough to my size... I think it'll be okay. You don't want to put those dirty things back on, do you?"

Kaito shook his head, wishing he could cover up, moving his stumps as if to hide his manhood from view. Gakupo pretended not to see Kaito's actions, but then shook his head, realizing that his own actions were childish.

"Look, don't worry about it. We're both men. It's nothing I haven't seen before on my own body. Ok?" Gakupo watched the rising flush on Kaito's face, but the bluenette slowly nodded, and moved his arms away, letting them carefully drop down to his sides. Gakupo tried a smile, but it still felt forced.

"I'll be right back, just hang on a second," Gakupo said, and left Kaito sitting on the toilet. He paused before taking the dirty clothes with him. Once he was back in his own room, he tossed Kaito's clothing into his dirty clothes hamper, and grabbed some fresh clothes from his own dresser drawers.

Gakupo returned quickly, but from the look of anxiety on Kaito's face, it wasn't quickly enough. Gakupo smiled gently at Kaito, and mussed the bluenette's hair a little bit again. It really did feel soft against his fingers, Gakupo thought.

"Think these'll do?" Gakupo asked for Kaito's approval as he placed two sets of clean clothes, a couple of clear plastic bags, and a few rubber bands on the bathroom counter near the sink.

"Yeah. Thanks," Kaito mumbled, his mind on what was coming next. Gakupo felt sympathy for the bluenette. Getting washed by someone who was practically a stranger would be uncomfortable for anyone... and under the circumstances, there were other problems Kaito was facing as well.

Gakupo felt the water, the temperature was good. "Water's hot. You all set?"

Kaito stared at the ground hard and nodded. Gakupo knelt down by Kaito, pulling the plastic bags over the ends of his bandaged arms, using the elastics to keep them in place. Gakupo stood back up, feeling a little self conscious, as he rid himself of his own dirty clothes.

Gakupo helped Kaito back up from the toilet again, and let the bluenette use him as a steady to step over the lip of the shower, into the warm spray of water.

Gakupo watched the muscles ripple along the entire length of Kaito's slim, pale torso at the sensation of the water hitting his body. Gakupo's eyes couldn't help but appreciate it. It was commonplace for Vocaloids to be created to look aethetically pleasing for their Masters. Kaito was no exception.

Gakupo entered the shower after Kaito. Kaito gave up his place directly under the showerhead, but Gakupo thought he did so with reluctance. Gakupo smiled against his will. The bluenette was a gentleman.

"It's okay, you go first," Gakupo instructed. Kaito looked back at him, but moved back under the shower spray, looking mildly relieved as the water hit his body again. Kaito's blue eyes closed, he turned his face up into the spray of water for a long moment, as if to lose himself in it.

Gakupo took the moment to observe Kaito's form, noting his slim muscles, his long, toned legs, his pale, smooth back, and noting the ends of his arms that ended a little too abruptly, where there should have been hands. The gentle curves of Kaito's body were blurred slightly by the water running over his body. It was beautiful.

Gakupo looked at Kaito's face, which had an earnest, longing expression on it, that somehow also had an element of despair to it. Heartbreaking to look at. Gakupo glanced back at the stubby ends of Kaito's bandaged arms, wondering what it felt like to not have any hands. To have to depend on a new friend for even something so basic as daily living activities.

Gakupo expected to feel the anger that returned as he watched Kaito's arms move slightly, as the bluenette moved his body a little to be even better under the stream of water. He expected the anger that did come, but he also expected a feeling of disgust, of horror, at clearly looking at Kaito's bandaged stumps... and that feeling didn't come.

Gakupo wondered, once the ends of Kaito's arms healed, would they be rounded..? Smooth..? ...Like Kaito's back looked? Soft, like Kaito's skin looked? Gakupo's fingers itched, surprising himself with the sense of wanting to touch and find out. Gakupo swallowed to himself, blushing lightly. What was he thinking?

Kaito lowered his head, turned his neck to open his eyes and look at Gakupo. Drops of water clung to his black eyelashes, and blue eyes were looking calmly, with a slight anxiety, but trust, back at Gakupo's purple eyes. Gakupo swallowed again. Oh, this wasn't good.

Gakupo cleared his throat awkwardly, looking to where the shampoo was kept on the shower shelf. "Uh, hair first?" Gakupo managed to ask with a semblance of normalcy. Kaito stared blankly, then nodded again, bowing his head slightly.

Gakupo squirted a little of the toiletry into his hand, smeared it gently against Kaito's soft, soft blue hair. It felt silky from the water, and Gakupo was glad that Kaito wasn't watching his face as he massaged the shampoo into a froth. The feeling of lubrication from the shampoo, the feeling of Kaito's soft hair through his fingers was a pleasurable sensation, and Gakupo took his time to thoroughly wash Kaito's hair, his own purple eyes closing slightly.

"Okay, you're ready to rinse, now," Gakupo's voice sounded a little husky to his own ears, and he blushed, clearing his throat again. "Go under the water, keep your eyes closed. I'll help you wash it out."

Kaito obeyed silently, and Gakupo's fingers felt the sensation as he raked his hands through Kaito's hair again, letting the water sluice through the shampoo and rinse away cleanly. When the water ran clear, Gakupo let Kaito know it was enough, and when Kaito moved back out from under the spray, Gakupo moved Kaito's wet blue bangs gently away from his eyes. Kaito's face had little rivulets of water running down it.

"Okay," Gakupo said quietly, as much to himself as to Kaito, "Next is the body." Kaito flushed at that, and Gakupo tried not to notice the color across Kaito's cheeks and the bridge of his nose. Gakupo took the bodywash from the shower shelf, putting a dollop of it into his hands. "Uh... front first, or back first?" Gakupo felt awkward in his question.

Kaito turned his back to Gakupo, answering without words. ...Of course. Gakupo frowned, but put his hands out and touched them against Kaito's wet, nude shoulderblades. Gakupo's purple eyes widened, then closed slightly as he felt the sensation. The bluenette's skin was just as soft as it looked.

Gakupo made little circles with his hands, rubbing the body wash carefully over Kaito's back, starting at the top, and working his way down. Adding a little more body wash to his hands, and continuing. The feeling of the bluenette's skin under his hands was wonderful.

As he reached the small of Kaito's back, he paused his hands, and he felt Kaito tense up. Gakupo took a breath, exhaled it, and kept moving downwards, washing Kaito's buttocks and the tops of the backs of his thighs.

"Kaito," Gakupo said very quietly, "I'm going to wash you 'there' next. Okay? Don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you."

Kaito's body began trembling at Gakupo's words, but his wet head nodded its acceptance. Gakupo put a little more bodywash on his hands and tried to ignore their trembling. He washed towards the middle of Kaito's buttcrack, putting out two fingers to gently rub against the place that Kaito probably didn't want touched, more than anyplace, right now.

It felt tender, a little swollen, under Gakupo's fingers as he gently washed the bluenette there. He could feel the tension in Kaito's quietly shaking body, but he wanted to be thorough. It wasn't doing Kaito any favors to leave even a trace of that man's mark on the bluenette's body.

Gakupo's heart clenched with renewed fury as his imagination ran rampant, imagining Kaito's terrified, tearful face, as his insane Master rammed into the lovely, soft-skinned bluenette. Imagined Kaito's arm stubs flailing from his terror, as he was taken against his will. Gakupo's eyes darkened dangerously.

"Do you want me to clean inside, too?" Gakupo heard his own voice speaking with a shock. Kaito was apparently just as shocked, for the bluenette didn't say anything for a very long moment. Gakupo wished he could take the words back.

"...Yes," The quiet affirmation made Gakupo's heart skip a beat, stop, and then hammer. He shakily removed his hand from Kaito's abused entrance, grabbing the body wash once again, and coating his fingers and hand liberally with the substance. Gakupo felt disbelief at his own actions, but he couldn't really back out now.

"I'll be as gentle as I can be, Kaito," Gakupo's normally smooth voice came out rough as he spoke those words. Kaito nodded, ashamed, his head bent down to stare at the shower floor.

Gakupo moved his fingers back to Kaito's ass, rubbing them gently against the bluenette's entrance again, until it was slick with the soap. 'This... this is a bad idea, isn't it?' Gakupo asked himself, but he pushed one of his fingers forwards into the inviting warmth.

"Nngh," Kaito made a small sound, and it went right through Gakupo's body, down to his crotch. Gakupo took a shaky breath, moving his finger gently, massaging around the still-slightly puffy flesh of Kaito's asshole. For it to still be this swollen this many hours later, Gakupo wondered just how hard the male Vocaloid had been taken.

The mental images of Kaito's Master abusing him flashed again through Gakupo's mind as he massaged the bodywash deeper into Kaito's backside. Kaito's quiet cries came at random. Gakupo's mind grasped at them like a lifeline.

Gakupo found himself wondering, what those cries would sound like, if they were made from pleasure, not pain? It was a dangerous path. Gakupo's eyes widened as he realized that it was a /very/ dangerous path. An erection had risen from his own hips as his thoughts were allowed to have their way with that train of thought. Gakupo cursed himself; if Kaito were to see that, who knows how he would react? This time, there was no Taito to help, if Kaito went into another panic.

But the pressure around his slicked finger, the warmth and slight suction of Kaito's insides, made losing the erection impossible. Gakupo tried to imagine meat grinders, tried to imagine knives chopping off his manhood, willing the gory images to fade his erection away. But his mind tracked from knives cutting off his manhood to knives cutting off Kaito's hands...

Gakupo realized that his erection had grown even harder at that thought, and opened his eyes widely in disbelief. 'I can't possibly be turned on by something that sick... could I?' Gakupo thought in self horror. His finger's movements stalled, and Kaito opened his eyes at the ground, feeling suddenly much more uncomfortable and nervous.

"G-Gakupo?" Kaito's voice stuttered out anxiously.

"Oh, I- sorry," Gakupo guiltily tried to gather himself back together. He pulled his finger out of Kaito's backside. Kaito began turning to face him, but Gakupo grabbed his shoulders with both of his hands, desperate to stop him before Kaito noticed Gakupo's raging hard-on. "Uh-"

Kaito's whole body tensed at the unexpected force of Gakupo's sudden grip. Realizing his mistake, Gakupo stuttered out his own words, feeling a little panicked, a feeling he wasn't used to.

"Kaito, don't turn around just yet. I, uh, I..." Gakupo's mind worked furiously; how could he possibly explain this away? He settled on a lie, trying to make it sound as convincing and unthreatening as possible. "I, uh, should have mentioned this sooner. Sometimes, in the shower, the, uh... the sound of the water, it's um, sexy to me. It's got nothing to do with you, but, I, uh, don't want you to freak when you turn around. Um... uh... okay?"

It was terrible. His usual smoothness, his usually excellent poker face, was crap. Kaito was going to see right through his lying ass. Gakupo waited, a huge sweatdrop on his head.

"...Oh," Kaito said, and while the tension didn't totally leave his body, it did relax slightly. Gakupo let go of Kaito's shoulders in some surprise. Had that line of crap actually worked..? His face was full of nervousness as Kaito turned slowly, looking down at Gakupo's lower half, then looking up, into Gakupo's face.

Gakupo swallowed, hard, his face blushing an extreme color.

"Do you want me to get out and give you some privacy?" Kaito's next question caught Gakupo off guard, and the violette had to supress a nervous chuckle.

"No, that's... okay, I just didn't want to frighten you, is all... it'll go away on its own in a little while. Are you, uh, freaked out?" Gakupo managed to sound semi-intelligent, pretending as hard as he could that this was a completely normal kind of conversation.

"It's fine. You won't... hurt me, right?" The soft question was an arrow through Gakupo's heart as Kaito stared directly into his eyes.

"Of course not," Gakupo said, his face pained. Kaito nodded.

"Then, don't worry about it. We're both guys, right..? It's not like I've never seen it before on my own body," Kaito's face was neutral but he managed to crack the joke, echoing Gakupo's own comments of a little while ago. Gakupo was still blushing hard, but he managed a smile for the bluenette, feeling an intense gratitude at how cool Kaito was being about the whole embarassing thing.

"Y-yeah, we are," Gakupo managed. "So, uhh, the, front?"

Kaito nodded again, and watched as Gakupo nervously put more body wash on his hands, his hands reaching out to touch the bluenette slightly below his collarbone. Kaito closed his eyes, feeling the gentle touches against his skin, washing away some, but not all, of the memories of violence in a way which had nothing to do with soap or water.

No... not /nearly/ all.


	15. Chapter 15

A splash of cold fluid shocked against Rin's face . Her eyes fluttered open; she was disoriented. The room didn't look familiar, but the angry looking face that loomed in front of her small face was familiar. Her breath tightened in her chest as she stared directly into Master's angry eyes.

"You've been a bad girl, Rin," Master's voice scolded her in a deceptively light tone that didn't match his facial expression or coldly furious eyes. His voice hissed in a threatening tone that she had never heard from him before. "You stole something important from me. My beloved, lovely Kaito. Where did you hide him, little girl?"

Rin stared, her blue eyes huge, suddenly terrified not only for herself.

"You hurt Kaito," Her shaky voice accused, finding strength in her outrage against this man who looked like her Master.

"I did no such thing," Master frowned down at the mouthy blonde female Vocaloid. "All I did was take what was mine. It's your fault, you know, that I had to go that far. But now, we'll be together, forever. It doesn't matter how far you've hidden him from me. You'll tell me, and he'll come home to stay with me, forever. And he'll never, ever, ever touch someone else, other than me, again. That's because of you, Rin. Why don't you take responsibility? Confess to me. Maybe I will go easy on your punishment."

Rin's face creased in a horrified, offended confusion. How was any of Master's insanity her fault? But arguing with someone whose sanity had obviously been compromised wouldn't do her any good either. All the same, Rin felt a growing resentment at the unfair blame.

"It's your fault! Not mine! You were the one who hurt Kaito! You don't deserve to be called our Master. I'm never telling you anything!" Rin shouted out, almost uncaring of what was going to come.

Master was going to do whatever he wanted, regardless of what Rin said or did. She didn't have to be quiet and just take his unfair words. Her eyes burned with a rapidly growing hate for the man she had once embraced happily in her heart as her beloved Master.

An expected slap across her face took Rin sideways, and her head snapped to one side, a small trickle of blood falling down from the side of her cut lip. Rin glared back at Master, her resentment and hate growing and overtaking her fear.

"I'm going to teach you how to use that smart little mouth, Rin," Master said in a quiet little tone that chilled Rin's bones. The cup that had held the water Master had splashed in her face was tossed carelessly to one side, making a noisy clatter that caused Rin to flinch despite herself as it hit the ground and rolled away.

"It doesn't matter if it takes a while. You'll tell me what I want to know," Master said with an easy assurance, his eyes burning holes in Rin's head. "No one can seperate me from him for long. Kaito is mine, my posession, my beloved, blue-haired Vocaloid. And when I get him back..." Master smiled, and it was a frightening, insane smile. Rin pulled back as Master reached out and touched her cheek, then rubbed against the small cut on her lip.

"When I get him back, we'll be together, forever," The soft whisper echoed through Rin's head maliciously. Her clear blue eyes widened. Master tilted her head down slightly, kissing her forehead gently.

"And you, Rin... you'll get what bad girls deserve." Master quietly hissed down at her as she recoiled from him, her blue eyes shimmering back at his cold ones in fear.

"No..." she whispered. "No."

...

"Have you seen this girl? She's been missing since yesterday afternoon," Mikuo was asking yet another passerby on the street, holding a blown up photocopy of the photograph that Gakupo had smuggled out of Rin's house, cropped to show only the petite blonde Vocaloid female. Again, Mikuo's only answer was a shake of the head and an insincere, "Sorry," from the random stranger. He sighed.

They'd already hit all of the neighborhood stores twice, talked to all of the employees, both last night's night crews, and this morning's a.m. crews. They'd put up copies of the photo on telephone poles around the neighborhood. They'd even checked each of the area hospitals, and, to Mikuo's dread, the morgues, coming up empty each time.

Mikuo's heart was hurting him at the lack of progress, but he couldn't give up. The teal-haired male glanced over to Taito, who stood a few short paces away, holding out a copy of the same photo of Rin to yet another pedestrian.

The pedestrian had his hands up, was shaking his head, and looking nervous. Taito's blank face revealed nothing, but the twirling of the ice pick in his other hand was enough for Mikuo to guess what the dark-purple-haired male Vocaloid was up to.

"Taito!" Mikuo called out, demanding Taito's attention. As the dark-purple-haired Vocaloid was distracted by turning his head to look at Mikuo, the pedestrian broke free and ran past Taito, a look of worry and relief warring on his face as he fled. "Don't scare the people, or they won't help us if they spot her after this."

Taito blandly looked back, but Mikuo swore he could read a light reprimand in his purple eyes. "I wasn't," was all he said. Mikuo facepalmed.

"Okay, well, just... stop doing that thing with your icepick while you're asking people about Rin's photo. Okay? It makes them nervous." The teal-haired male said, feeling a little exasperated.

Taito looked down at his ice pick, shrugged, and stopped twirling it around in his fingers. "It's just a pick," He justified, frowning slightly, as if that explained everything.

"Let's try a different street, one with more traffic," Mikuo didn't feel like arguing with his friend. After all, Taito didn't have to help him, but he'd chosen to be here, sticking it out with Mikuo. Mikuo felt a grudging sort of appreciation. He would feel even better about it if either one of them had gotten a lead yet.

Taito nodded his okay, and followed Mikuo to the car, slipping into the driver's seat. "Where to, boss?" Taito said, a light tone of mocking to his voice.

"Don't let me get used to being addressed like that," Mikuo cracked the joke, but his face didn't smile. Taito glanced over and said nothing. Mikuo continued after a moment, "Let's try M street. That one looked pretty busy when we passed it before."

"You got it," Taito's light reply came. "...boss." He smiled his quirky little half smile at Mikuo, who just rolled his eyes and put his teal head in his palm, and sulked, looking out the window.

Taito's smile grew a little more at his friend's childish reaction to his teasing, and pulled smoothly out of the parking space.


	16. Chapter 16

Gakupo hung up the phone with an unhappy sigh. Kaito was standing close to him, and Gakupo met his eyes with a frown. "Sorry, Kaito, there's still no word yet."

Kaito looked down, depression on his face. Gakupo put his hand on the bluenette's shoulder for a moment, then dropped it, and walked into the kitchen. It was almost dinnertime, and as much as the bluenette claimed he had no appetite, Gakupo knew he needed to eat anyways.

There was nothing more Gakupo could do than Mikuo and Taito were already doing, in the effort to find Rin. As much as it shamed him to do so, there was really nothing more he could contribute to the effort. To their credit, the pair of Vocaloid males were keeping in constant contact with Gakupo and Kaito. If any developments occurred, Gakupo had no doubt that they would be informed as quickly as possible.

Gakupo put a frying pan on the stove, and busied himself around the kitchen. It had been a few days since Kaito had come to stay at the violette's Master's house. They were getting into a routine of meals, sleeping schedules, and distractions. Kaito was coping extremely well, Gakupo thought.

With the exception of his nightmares, and the random times when Kaito started to shake or cry for no apparent reason. Gakupo remembered Taito's advice, and his actions, when those times came, and just sat or stood with Kaito, holding him in a quiet embrace, and trying to think of calming things to say that didn't sound too inane or stupid.

'Like "It's okay,"' Gakupo thought to himself, feeling angry. He cognitively knew that he was doing all he could think of to help Kaito's recovery, from dressing changes, to helping the bluenette to the toilet, to showering with Kaito and washing his body. Not to mention helping him eat the food that Kaito constantly tried to refuse, and helping Kaito sip water from glasses that Gakupo had to hold up against his lips.

Gakupo's mind wandered to the second night Kaito had spent in Gakupo's Master's bed. The bluenette had woken, screaming and flailing, falling out of bed and shrieking holy hell as he bashed his arm stubs against the floor. It had begun a new bleed from the ends of one of Kaito's arms, and was a traumatic experience for Gakupo, who had to hold the bluenette bodily while applying pressure to the newly opened wound where a couple of the tiny, neat, even stitches had torn through the flesh.

Holding Kaito, who continued to scream, scream, and scream, until his voice was hoarse, as Gakupo held him still. Screamed for his Master to stop, screamed that it hurt. Gakupo's eyes clouded at the memory. Kaito had eventually calmed down, his body suddenly relaxing in Gakupo's arms in a way that startled the violette almost as badly as the sound of the first scream and bodily thump that had occurred when Kaito had fallen to the floor.

Gakupo had sat there, cradling Kaito's limp body, his own purple eyes very wide, for a long, long time, before he even tried to get the bluenette back into the bed.

But there were good things, too, encouraging things. Like when Kaito's eyes raised and paid attention to a TV program, instead of staring off into space with a blank, but stressed-out expression, probably reliving his trauma in some way, shape, or form. And when Kaito finally came to Gakupo to tell him, "I'm thirsty," to ask for a drink that wasn't forced on him. That had happened only this morning.

Gakupo didn't mind caring for the bluenette. In a way, he felt like Kaito had become an extension of him. He wasn't sure what would happen to Kaito in the future, especially once Gakupo's own Master got home, but he couldn't see his Master kicking the injured bluenette out of their house.

Gakupo tried to remember what it was like living here by himself, while Master was gone on his long trips. He couldn't remember. Even though it had only been a few days, it felt like Kaito was part of his family now. He couldn't imagine things without the blue-haired male being a part of his daily life anymore.

The smell of sizzling pork brought Gakupo back to the present, and he flipped the meat over on its side, adding a little more seasoning. He grabbed for the vegetables, to get them started, when his ears picked up the sound of sobbing from the other room. Gakupo frowned, his heart aching, and he turned off the heat on the still-cooking meat.

Gakupo left the kitchen to investigate. Kaito was on the floor, sprawled legs awkwardly pulled up next to his chest, his bandaged arms trying to cover his face without touching it. He was curled up in on himself and sobbing helplessly like a child.

Gakupo quietly knelt next to the bluenette, touching his shoulder to alert Kaito to Gakupo's presence, before wrapping his arms around Kaito and pulling him close in a hug. "What happened?" Gakupo asked, though he knew there didn't really have to be a reason.

"The-the smell," Kaito sobbed out, "It's my hands, it's my hands, please... please, no." It was hard to follow what Kaito was saying, and Gakupo frowned, trying to figure it out.

"What do you mean? It's okay if you can't explain it," Gakupo offered up, hoping to console the blue-haired man without pressuring him.

"The smell, the smell, it's the same. Master's going to make me eat, please, please, please..." The bluenette seemed to get stuck, broken record, at "please." Gakupo's blood chilled in his veins.

He released Kaito from his comforting grip, and Kaito hunched over even further, the loss of the strength and warmth ruining his efforts to regain himself. He gasped through his tears, trying to get panic breaths into lungs that didn't want to work properly.

Gakupo ran to the kitchen, slammed open the freezer, irregardless to what frozen things were in his way, and shoved the scalding frying pan with the cooking pork into the cooling appliance, closing the door forcefully. He slapped the fan on and looked around with almost panicked eyes for anything that would have a strong odor.

Gakupo's wide violet eyes took in the spice rack, and he grabbed another pan, dumping in all of the cinnamon, rosemary, cloves, and nutmeg that touched against his hands, adding a water frantically from the sink, and slamming the pot onto the burner, turning the heat to high.

Gakupo left the fragrant pot unattended and sprinted back to Kaito's side, falling onto his knees to pull the bluenette back into his panicked embrace, holding a little too tightly, but not realizing it. Gakupo's heart was jackhammering.

Kaito's body shook, sobbed terribly, pressed hopelessly against Gakupo's chest and shoulders. Kaito wrapped his arms around Gakupo's neck as he continued to cry in shuddering, wracking sobs, the ends of his arm stubs up in the air behind Gakupo's neck.

Gakupo's heart was breaking with the bluenette's actions, and he was even further shocked and startled when Kaito suddenly pulled his arms back away from Gakupo, and started screaming, hitting at Gakupo's front with what was left of his arms. Shrieking in pain from the hitting, and hitting again, sobbing, sobbing, like an insane person would.

Gakupo grabbed Kaito firmly by the shoulders and forced him back into the hug, not giving Kaito enough room to hit against his chest anymore. Kaito screamed, screamed in rage and fear, struggling, but he was no match for the violette. Gakupo had Kaito's slim, malnourished body beat in pure muscular strength.

"I'm here," Gakupo said, again and again, trying to make his voice calm, which was a feeling he definitely didn't have himself, at the moment. "I'm here. I'm here. Kaito. I'm right here."

Kaito's screams turned backed into tortured sobs, and he stopped struggling his head away, leaning it back hard into Gakupo's collarbone as he cried.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Kaito. I'm sorry. I'm right here. I know. I know. I'm sorry. I'm right here," Gakupo said again, again, for what seemed like an endless amount of time, and simply held onto the blue-haired Vocaloid male with most of his strength, terrified that Kaito was going to start screaming and flailing again. But the sound of Kaito's broken, damaged, muffled sobs was almost worse than the screams. "I'm here."

Gakupo felt helpless to do anything but hold on and pray that something would change.


	17. Chapter 17

Kaito woke up in fragments. Part of one sense, part of another sense, making the world feel disjointed as his mind tried to wake up the rest of the way and make sense of where he was, whether he was safe, whether he should be afraid. His body felt warm, and there was a mild, almost spicy scent in the air that seemed comforting and vaguely familiar.

The soft sounds of breathing were in the room, two sets of breath. There was a slight pressure around Kaito's body where arms were loosely wrapped around him. His front was warm with proximity to another person's body. Kaito's eyes looked in front of him, realizing that the person holding him was Gakupo. The violette was asleep, his breathing soft and regular. His long hair fell lankily across his face and over his shoulders.

Kaito's eyes softened, and he took in the feeling of being safe. His body felt achy, as if he had run a long race, and failed to cool back down with a walk to relax his muscles afterwards. The scent in Kaito's nose was Gakupo's scent.

Kaito closed his eyes and inhaled a little, feeling an almost dizzy relief. Opening his blue eyes once more, Kaito stared at the purple-haired man's face, tracing his features boldly, knowing that the Vocaloid male wouldn't catch him staring while he slept. The violette's lips were slightly parted as he breathed in, and out. The soft sound was mesmerizing, relaxing.

Kaito felt a sudden need welling up in him from out of nowhere. He needed to be physically closer to the source of comfort. Throughout Kaito's frights over the past few days, Gakupo had held him, keeping him safe from himself, and calming him with his presence, while Kaito's memories wreaked havok on the bluenette's state of mind.

Gakupo's proximity, Gakupo's care, Gakupo's arms around Kaito, all had provided a much-needed sense of support and reliability. Kaito knew that when the violette was there, he was safe. The thought produced a feeling of craving; Kaito /needed/ that intimacy. He struggled to move closer to Gakupo, even though he was already loosely in the violette's arms.

'How can I get even closer?' Kaito thought, his mind feeling like a wild thing, as he pressed himself tightly against Gakupo's sleeping form, taking in breaths of the mild, masculine scent that he only noticed when he was this close to Gakupo's body.

Kaito's stricken eyes stared at Gakupo's face, feeling like he needed the violette to wake up, to help him, to hold him closely, tightly. To hear Gakupo's soft, encouraging voice. The violette had never once told Kaito, "It's alright," and the knowledge of that gave Kaito a trust in the purple-haired male's words.

The breath coming out of Gakupo's mouth was unchanged in rhythm, though Kaito was close enough to feel the rise and fall of Gakupo's chest against his own. Kaito breathed in sync with Gakupo, willing his anxious heart to calm down. He focused on Gakupo's lips. They looked soft. Gakupo always touched Kaito softly; even when he was holding him bodily, his hands were gentle with their stength.

Kaito moved his head closely to Gakupo's face, until he could feel Gakupo's breath against his own lips. Kaito's heart was jackhammering. He felt needy, and wanted to be ashamed of that feeling, but the need and longing for closer contact was stronger than the shame, for once. Kaito tilted his head very slightly, and moved so that his lips were touching just very slightly against Gakupo's lips, breathing in Gakupo's exhalations, breathing out Gakupo's inhalations.

Kaito closed his eyes slowly, pressing their lips even further together into a soft, dry kiss.

...

The warm, comfortable feeling of Kaito's body against Gakupo's gained a pressure as Kaito pressed himself against Gakupo's front. The warm, moist breath against Gakupo's face was also comfortable, and the pleasant combination of warmth, pressure, and comfort didn't wake the violette up.

But the feeling of Kaito's lips pressing against his lips somewhat forcefully produced a sexual sort of tickle down Gakupo's stomach, even in his sleep. The violette sleepily opened his eyes, to see that Kaito was pressed firmly against him, and his pale face was tilted, kissing Gakupo just as firmly. Kaito's facial expression had a hunger to it that caused Gakupo's eyes to widen like he had just been splashed with a bucket of cold water. Oh, Gakupo was awake, definitely awake. Instantly, shocked.

Gakupo pulled away slightly in his startlement. Kaito's half-lidded eyes stared back at him, and the bluenette tried to press his body firmly back against the violette's. "K-Kaito?" Gakupo stuttered out, speechless at the unexpected actions he had awoken to.

"Please hold me," The needy statement came out from between the bluenette's lips as he stared boldly back at Gakupo.

"UH..." Gakupo paused, flummoxed. Hold, or kiss? Gakupo sweatdropped, the slight feeling of pleasure from the unexpected contact with Kaito's soft lips was still noticably there in his lower belly.

Kaito's face stilled, his eyes suddenly going blank, and he stopped trying to wiggle closer to Gakupo. Kaito withdrew a little bit, his facial features slackening into an expression of... despair? Gakupo couldn't place the exact word that would fit the look on Kaito's face.

"I'm sorry," Kaito's voice sounded like it was full of a sudden self-hatred. "I just... you've been so good to me and I... touched you, with my dirty, messed-up body. It's disgusting. Of course you're angry."

"What? I? I'm not angry, Kaito," Gakupo tried to recover from the rapid changes in the bluenette's behavior, feeling like a fish out of water. He gaped at Kaito, who was withdrawing into himself in self-loathing. "And you're not dirty, Kaito."

"I'm mutilated. I'm not even a whole person anymore. I'm disgusting," Kaito murmured hatefully and fell back silent. His slim shoulders were shaking. Gakupo looked at him, feeling very concerned, the memory of Kaito's freakout earlier, front and center in his mind. Gakupo reached out a hand to touch Kaito's cheek, and while the bluenette didn't flinch away this time, he didn't look up to meet Gakupo's eyes again, either.

"You /are/ a whole person. Your body is just... different than it used to be," Gakupo tried to comfort Kaito by reasoning with him.

"I'm a freak," Kaito stated in a low, blunt tone. "I've got no hands. Nobody is going to want me, after this. Even you, even you pull away. I don't have any value like this. Not anymore. My body is disgusting. I'm worthless. I'm dirty. Maybe I deserved this. Why did this happen to me? Is it somehow my fault? My Master..."

Gakupo slowly reached out his hands to touch Kaito's shoulders, and pulled the male into a hug against his chest. Kaito didn't resist, but he didn't try to push back against Gakupo seeking comfort again, either. Gakupo's voice was soft, his heart beating hard at the lingering sense of Kaito's lips on his lips, and the returning proximity of the bluenette's body against his chest.

"You're beautiful," Gakupo murmured, putting his face against Kaito's soft blue hair. "It's not your fault. Kaito... every part of you is beautiful. You're still a whole person. It's just your body that is different."

Kaito wanted to believe Gakupo. His face twisted up, and he asked in a pained voice, pulling back from the purple-haired Vocaloid male and holding his bandaged stubs up for inspection, "How can this be beautiful? I'm... defective. I'm crippled. I don't have /hands,/ Gakupo!"

Gakupo met Kaito's eyes with a quiet, calm look. "I know, Kaito." Gakupo reached his hand out to touch the end of one of the bandaged stumps, gently. Kaito flinched his arm away, looking horrified, that Gakupo would have to touch his damaged places. Gakupo snatched his elbow, holding Kaito awkwardly, forcing him to keep his arm stub in front of him, between them, for Gakupo's inspection.

"I think it's probably time that it's okay to take these bandages off," Gakupo said after a long momenent, as the two faced off, staring at each other, refusing to break their eye contact. Kaito's eyes widened at this, and he looked downwards, surrendering first.

"No... I don't want to," Kaito mumbled. "I don't want to look at it. You shouldn't have to, either."

"Don't argue with me," Gakupo stated, and reached to unwrap the bandages of Kaito's arm. Kaito struggled a moment, until Gakupo grabbed his shoulder tightly, and forced the bluenette to return his alarmed eyes to Gakupo's face. "You can't put this off. Show it to me. It's not like I haven't been changing your bandages for the past few days."

Kaito's expression clouded at the reminder that Gakupo had already seen Kaito's deformities. He looked away, shamed, and let Gakupo do as he pleased. The violette unwrapped the bandages on first one arm stump, then the other. They really were healing quite well, and he nodded to himself that it did look like it was time for the injuries to be getting some fresh air as they continued their healing.

Kaito moved his arm stumps away, trying to cross his arms over his chest, as if to hide them. 'It doesn't work well, when it's your arms, though,' Gakupo thought to himself. Kaito's face was frozen in a very unhappy frown. Those soft pink lips that had been pressed against Gakupo's just a short while before, were now full of displeasure and anxiety once again.

Gakupo reached out his hand to touch against those lips. Kaito's eyes snapped back up at him, unreadable. Gakupo stared at them, burning their blue gaze into his vision. He softly said, "...Beautiful," and Kaito's sullen eyes widened at the word. Kaito flushed, looking away again quickly, feeling a little angry.

"You're lying," Kaito said in a hurt, angry tone. He felt betrayed by Gakupo's comment.

"This is a bad idea, Kaito," Gakupo said softly, and his palm cupped Kaito's face, turning it back towards him. The bluenette's eyes had an added look of confusion to them, as if he wanted to ask what it was that was a bad idea. Gakupo leaned forward and pressed his lips back against Kaito's.


	18. Chapter 18

Kaito stared at Gakupo as if he were an alien, as the violette pulled his head reluctantly away from Kaito's plush lips. The long-haired male Vocaloid let his eyes trail down Kaito's neck, to his collarbone, lingering there as the flesh teased him, then continuing their trek down Kaito's clothed chest, to his belly, to Kaito's arms. Kaito's face cringed as Gakupo clearly stared at Kaito's bare stumps.

Gakupo reached his hand back out, pulling one of Kaito's arms towards him, slightly unbalancing the disturbed blue-haired Vocaloid. With his other hand, he brushed Kaito's bangs away from his face, looking into the bluenette's face with an expression that Kaito couldn't get a read on. Cupping Kaito's face in his smooth, warm palm.

Kaito closed his eyes against the touch, the longing feeling of wanting comfort returning to torture the bluenette. Kaito's lips trembled slightly, and he couldn't stop himself from pressing his cheek gently into Gakupo's hand. He felt the edge of tears prick his blue eyes.

"You don't owe me anything, you know," Gakupo said quietly. Kaito was regarding his face seriously as he listened to his words, but the bluenette's eyes were still partially closed, his head tilted slightly to the side, to press into Gakupo's hand.

"I'm not going to stop being your friend, Kaito. But you should know this; that I think you are beautiful. I do," Gakupo repeated before Kaito's frown could contradict him. "I don't know why... and you don't have to return these feelings but, Kaito, I..." Gakupo's eyes stared directly into Kaito's.

"I like you, Kaito," Gakupo finished his sentence in a whisper. "Maybe that's why this is okay. But, I don't think you're thinking straight. You don't owe me anything. You don't need to feel pressured to do things like this with me, from now on." Gakupo released Kaito's cheek from his hand.

Kaito's eyes were shimmering with rising tears, his face serious. Kaito's cheek felt cold where Gakupo's hand had left it. Kaito raised one of his arm stubs towards his cheek, forgetting once again that he had no hands to touch that cold place with to warm it again.

Gakupo brought Kaito's other stump to his lips, Kaito's eyes widening as he did so. The violette placed a gentle, soft kiss on the end of Kaito's arm, tasting the slight medicinal flavor of antiseptic. Kaito's tears broke free and began spilling down his cheeks as he felt the light touch. Gakupo looked back up, a hurt sort of smile in his purple eyes as he told Kaito once again, "Beautiful."

Kaito bowed his head suddenly, overcome by emotion, as tears fell down his face. Gakupo released his arm, pulled Kaito in for a hug. The warmth, the pressure, the feel of Gakupo's body next to Kaito's was wonderful. It felt like home.

Kaito rubbed his face against the crook of Gakupo's shoulder and let out his tears quietly, letting the long-haired male Vocaloid hold him as he let his feelings out wetly.

"I'm here," Gakupo's soft voice came, once again, and Kaito's heart ached towards the violette. It took everything Kaito had to move slightly apart from that wonderful embrace, but he did so anyways, turning his teary blue eyes towards Gakupo's concerned purple ones. Kaito lowered his eyelids slightly and looked at Gakupo.

Slowly, letting Gakupo have the time to reject him, Kaito moved his face closer to Gakupo's, opening his lips slightly, and touching against Gakupo's mouth once again. The violette's own eyes closed slightly at the touch, a look of his own longing breaking free to show on his face.

Kaito closed his eyes the rest of the way, the image of Gakupo's expression burned into his mind's eye, and he pressed his lips more firmly against Gakupo's. Feeling his closeness, smelling his scent surrounding Kaito. Feeling Gakupo's warm arms embracing him tighter once again. Trying to embrace the violette back, as well as Kaito was able to, without hands to aid him.

It felt good. It felt so good. Soft, kind, wonderful. Comforting, intimate, friendly. Kaito's heart was feeling soothed, a sensation that seemed related somehow to happiness filling his chest, as he was allowed the intimacy of the embrace that included both hug and kiss. Kaito sighed slightly when Gakupo's lips moved slightly away from his, but the violette didn't pull away far, instead trailing his lips to the edge of Kaito's mouth and kissing there, next.

Then, the edge of Kaito's jawline. Upon Kaito's neck just under his ear. Gentle kisses at each place. Against Kaito's jugular vein. Gakupo couldn't resist taking a little taste of the soft flesh there, and licked the tip of his tongue against Kaito's neck. The bluenette shivered, tried to hold Gakupo's head closer to him by wrapping the insides of his elbows around the purple-haired Vocaloid's head.

"Mm," Gakupo murmured appreciatively. The feelings of having the bluenette in his willing embrace was heady, heady. Gakupo wondered whether his reasoning capabilities were being compromised, whether he, and Kaito, would regret this, later on. But right now, Kaito was shivering, and it wasn't from fear. Gakupo watched the bluenette's face as he moved his head farther down, teasing his lips and tongue down his neck, to his collarbone.

"Let me take this off," Gakupo said breathlessly to the blue-haired Vocaloid. Kaito lifted his arms and let Gakupo take his shirt carefully off. Gakupo's eyes roamed the smooth, pale expanse of Kaito's soft, slightly muscular chest. His memories of touching Kaito in the shower reminded him of just how soft the Vocaloid's body was, how good that skin felt underneath Gakupo's fingers and palms.

"You're so sexy," Gakupo complimented Kaito. The bluenette blushed at the words, looking a little uncomfortable. But he moved his head forward, mirroring Gakupo, as Gakupo leaned his own head forward again to kiss Kaito's soft, sweet lips once again.

Kaito's breath caught in his throat as Gakupo opened his mouth slightly to lick against Kaito's lips. Another shiver ran down the bluenette's torso at the sensation. His nerves were on fire; everything felt insanely sensitive. Every place that Gakupo touched throbbed, but it wasn't an unpleasant sensation, at all.

Trepidly, as if fearing a reprimand, Kaito opened his own mouth slightly, touching Gakupo's tongue with his own, and feeling a little embarassed as Gakupo's tongue became more bold, licking against Kaito's tongue strongly. There was a flavor in Kaito's mouth as Gakupo kissed him deeply, and it didn't taste like food. Kaito wondered if this flavor was Gakupo's flavor, and he felt a pleasant tension in his stomach as the thought occurred to him.

Gakupo's hands were trailing down Kaito's nude chest, stomach, ribs, as the pair of male Vocaloids continued their intimate kiss. Gakupo pressed his thumbs against Kaito's pink little nipples as his fingers felt the nubs and slightly different texture. Kaito made a soft sound, and Gakupo hoped it was approval, as he rubbed his thumbs around in little circles, adding a little pressure, then pinching them lightly, one at a time, before rubbing again.

Gakupo broke free from the kiss, panting very lightly, his eyes alight as they watched Kaito's face, seeing that there was pleasure on the normally despondant male's face. The expression was so attractive; Gakupo could feel his now very-awake erection throbbing as he stared at Kaito with glazed eyes.

"Is that okay?" Kaito's soft question caught Gakupo's attention. "I've... never..."

Gakupo stared back at Kaito, realization dawning upon him. "Was that your first kiss?" It seemed ridiculous, impossible, but Kaito smiled a little hesitantly, saying, "Yeah," and anxiety joined the look of pleasure on Kaito's face.

Gakupo regarded Kaito with a growing look of seriousness, not wanting to ask, but feeling like he needed to know. "Your Master didn't kiss you?"

Kaito's eyes flinched at the word "Master" as it fell out of Gakupo's mouth. The smile disappeared utterly from his face. "No." Was the short reply. Kaito looked back downwards, feeling suddenly uncomfortable and dirty again.

"Good," Gakupo said suddenly into the silence, and Kaito raised his eyes from under his lashes to regard the violette. "He doesn't deserve that. He doesn't deserve any of what he took from you."

Gakupo's anger widened Kaito's eyes. Gakupo noticed the change in the bluenette's expression, and tried to smooth out his voice and features, to hide the anger against Kaito's Master that had been simmering to a low boil. Gakupo touched against Kaito's cheek with his hand again, and continued to speak, this time softly, determined not to frighten the bluenette.

"I'm glad I was your first time, Kaito," Gakupo spoke the words, and to the violette's surprise, the bluenette's eyes widened even wider. Gakupo cocked his head, fighting a frown of concern. "What is it?"

"Is that what it means?" Kaito asked, his eyes serious, as if it was an important question to the bluenette.

"I don't think I understand your question," Gakupo said, frowning slightly despite himself. Kaito looked away for a brief moment, then met Gakupo's eyes again, still serious.

"Master said... when he came back, he would 'take the rest of my first times.' It was just before Rin found me and, we escaped. Is that what it means?" Kaito explained.

Gakupo was going to kill the man. Tie him up, beat him with a rusty metal pipe, until his kidneys burst and he vomited blood through his nose, choking to death on the vicious fluid. Gakupo took a deep breath, steadying himself, before he answered Kaito.

"Your Master is a sick man. What he was referring to, he was twisting those words. Your 'firsts' are related to romance, to a relationship with someone who... who loves you," Gakupo almost choked on the words, he almost couldn't keep his fury in check. "What he did to you, was a grotesque mockery of what you deserve to have in a loving relationship. He might have pushed inside of you Kaito, but I wouldn't consider that to be your 'first' of anything except for rape."

Kaito's eyes grew darker and darker as Gakupo continued to speak. His face was very still, and the bluenette asked, "Do you still think I'm not dirty?"

Gakupo stared. He wanted to say no, wanted to say no, but... the rage was still just beneath the surface. Kaito's Master HAD dirtied the sweet blue-haired Vocaloid. Had stolen something from him, had damaged him, and badly. But it wasn't Kaito's fault, and even if Kaito had been dirtied, it didn't take anything away from his beauty, his kindhearted, good-natured personality. Kaito's hurting blue eyes looked directly at Gakupo's.

It didn't change the fact that Gakupo now held Kaito in his heart, regardless of anything so simple as how many complete limbs Kaito had, or whether violence had been done against him.

"You're right, Kaito," Gakupo said finally. Kaito closed his eyes, holding the words close to him, as if being proved right in his thoughts. "Your Master dirtied you, and right now, all I want to do is wash you clean. The dirt is the violence, though. It's not your body that's dirty. It's what that man did to you. It's the memory of how he hurt you. That's why I'm angry. Your Master did something terrible to you, Kaito. But it can't take away who you are. You're still Kaito."

"How am I supposed to clean away something like that?" Kaito's voice asked painfully, quietly. "How am I supposed to not remember? You say it's not my body that's dirty, but that's all I feel."

"All you can really do is try to make new, good memories, I guess," Gakupo's voice betrayed some of his dubiousness. "Make new memories, until they overtake the bad ones. Make so many good, new memories, that your damn Master chokes to death on them."

"...I don't know how to do that," Kaito replied, just as quietly. Gakupo's face softened at the bluenette's words. He hesitated before he answered.

"Do you want me to help you start? No pressure, no demands. You can say no, and it won't change our friendship. Kaito... do... you want me to take your 'real' first time?" Gakupo asked, the rage in his heart not the cause of why it was beating so fast.

This was insanity. This was wrong. Wasn't it? But Gakupo believed every word he had just spoken. It was really Kaito's decision, in the end.

"Will it hurt?" Kaito asked after a second, looking into Gakupo's eyes unflinchingly. Gakupo shook his head.

"No. It won't hurt. Not with someone you... someone who likes you. I'll be very careful. I'd be lying if I said it definitely won't feel weird, or at least a little uncomfortable, at first though. I mean, it's a kind of an intimate thing, after all," Gakupo explained, feeling somewhat awkward, but longing towards the bluenette.

"Please... help me feel clean again," Kaito asked softly. "If it's really okay for you to touch this body... if you're really okay with it, Gakupo, I... I want to be closer to you. I... I want your touches... your hands are always... so soft. They're kind hands. Please."

Gakupo's heart tugged in his chest, and his lower stomach clenched almost painfully from Kaito's words.

"Are you sure you won't hate me tomorrow, if we do this together right now?" Gakupo couldn't stop from asking. He looked down and away as a small part of his mind screamed for him to think about what he was about to do.

A small miracle happened, for Kaito's face appeared right in front of Gakupo's eyes, and there was a very, very small smile on his lips, as he stared into Gakupo's eyes. "I promise I won't. I... like you too, you know."

Gakupo's heart could have stopped, he could have died right there, and had no regrets in his life.

The violette pressed his lips hungrily back against Kaito's lightly smiling ones, and his chest filled with a strange sensation that felt a little like agony, and a little bit like heaven.


	19. Chapter 19

Hungry kisses; the taste of Kaito's saliva in his mouth. Soft breaths against his skin. The look of Kaito's beautiful, blue, partially closed eyes. The erotic expression of want and desperate pleasure. The understated scent of Kaito's body and hair. The soft, almost rumbling sound coming from deep down inside of Kaito's chest. The feel of Kaito's soft skin against Gakupo's hands as he touched.

Gakupo didn't want to break away, he wanted to devour the blue-haired Vocaloid male. He wanted to open his mouth and be able to swallow him up whole. Gakupo imagined crazily that Kaito would flail all the way down his esophagus after he swallowed the male Vocaloid in one piece. It was pure fantasy, pure insanity, but Gakupo opened his mouth wider, needing to taste more of Kaito's skin, his lips and tongue sucking down on Kaito's neck, his hands gripping Kaito to arch more forcefully against him.

'No, no, no. Get it together,' Gakupo scolded himself for getting swept up in the rush of his lust for the bluenette. But being able to touch, taste, and feel, with Kaito's permission... it was like some kind of esctatic drug. And it was okay. It was okay to want him. Okay to have him.

The thought broke free a low growl from Gakupo's throat, that vibrated against Kaito's neck where he was actively kissing the male. Kaito's eyes were closed in bliss at the intimate touches he was craving, his head was thrown back to allow Gakupo better access. His arms cradled Gakupo's head as the violette moved downwards, wanting to taste, touch, everything, with his tongue, hands, and lips. Smelling Kaito's scent, which was only apparent when Gakupo's nose was almost right next to the bluenette's skin.

'This feels SO good,' Gakupo thought with an approval that felt a little animalistic. 'But, calm down.'

Gakupo looked up at Kaito's face, his mouth still unwilling to release his prize of Kaito's flesh, and moved his hands downwards to Kaito's waistband. At the touch there, Kaito's eyes opened once more, and he stared down at Gakupo, meeting his eyes. Gakupo kept eye contact even as his mouth was pressed against Kaito's body, just under his collarbone.

Kaito didn't say anything, didn't stop him, and Gakupo pulled the bluenette's pants and underwear down around his hips. "Lay down," Gakupo commanded, his warm breath whispering against Kaito's body, with a slight rasp in his voice.

Kaito lay back down, on his back, and his shoulders pressed into the bed as he raised his hips, helping Gakupo to remove his bottom clothing. Kaito couldn't help the light blush on his nose as Gakupo eyed his nude body from head to foot, not bothering to hide what he was doing, at all. Kaito still felt a little uncertain; Gakupo said he liked him, but once Gakupo saw his body so clearly... not to mention his uncovered arm stumps... the violette might change his mind, and reject Kaito.

Gakupo didn't look happy. His hands reached back out and Kaito tried not to flinch his eyes away. Then Kaito looked down again, seeing that Gakupo was taking the white cotton socks off his feet. Kaito's blush came back even harder. Now he was /really/ naked. But Gakupo smiled suddenly, and Kaito's heart leapt.

"That's... MUCH better," Gakupo's voice purred in a sultry tone that was new to Kaito's ears. Kaito's eyes widened, as his blush increased even further. If Gakupo kept it up, Kaito's face would burn off from his embarassment. But, this is what he wanted.

Kaito lifted his arm stubs, holding them out wide to Gakupo, as if to tell the violette, "embrace me," and watched as the expression changed slightly in Gakupo's eyes. The look on Gakupo's face reminded Kaito both of a mother looking tenderly at her baby, and of a hungry lion eying a juicy steak. He swallowed a little, and Gakupo's sharp eyes noticed that, too, focusing on Kaito's throat as it moved.

'Slow down. Don't blow this,' Gakupo heard a voice in his head scolding him, and realizing it was his own voice he was hearing. The violette stripped off his own clothing in a few quick movements. Kaito watched the slight movement of Gakupo's muscles as the violette got naked.

Gakupo crawled up next to Kaito, one of his legs between Kaito's legs, halfway straddling the male's thigh. He lowered his head over Kaito's lips again, his long hair falling forward to tickle against the bluenette's face and body as Gakupo kissed him again, hungry for more.

Kaito could feel Gakupo's naked leg touching against his inner thigh, could sense the weight of his proximity as he topped the blue-haired male Vocaloid. Gakupo's hands quickly skimmed down Kaito's torso, touching his chest, his stomach, trailing down his sides to stroke Kaito's hips.

The unpleasant memory of Master grabbing Kaito's hips with a forcefulness that had left bruises that didn't appear until the next day, made Kaito clench his teeth, trying to relax again. Gakupo's mouth was on his neck again, and the warm sensation of his sucking tongue and lips was a distraction that felt so good, that Kaito tried to focus on that, instead of the bad memories.

"Make me clean again," Kaito begged quietly into the silence of the room. Gakupo raised his purple eyes to regard Kaito.

"I want you," Gakupo replied, not caring how it sounded. Kaito's eyes didn't tense up at it, instead, they softened, and he gave Gakupo another one of those little, trembling smiles that went straight through Gakupo's heart.

Gakupo's hands on his hips traced inwardly, and touched against Kaito's manhood. Kaito's cock twitched at the contact, and Gakupo's eyes narrowed in pleasure at the feeling. He bent his head downwards, licking down Kaito's stomach, and thrilling at the knowledge that Kaito felt even softer against Gakupo's lips, even more delicious, right here, than even Gakupo's hands could have told him.

Gakupo's mouth moved downwards, to the front of Kaito's hip, near his manhood. As Gakupo touched and tasted, Kaito's cock started to swell slightly. Gakupo's stomach clenched at the thought that he was making Kaito feel good, and the violette couldn't resist sucking at the flesh harder at that spot, wanting to leave his own mark on the Vocaloid male.

A small tremor ran through Kaito at the feeling, and he uttered a soft, pleased sound. "Please don't stop," the breathy request came from Kaito's slightly parted lips, as he stared down at Gakupo's head that was resting below his stomach.

"Good, Kaito," Gakupo said roughly, approvingly. "That makes me happy. Tell me you want this."

Kaito's expression softened with his pleasure. "I want this, Gakupo. Please. I want this. Don't stop what you're doing."

It was a mistake, asking Kaito to say those words. They travelled down to hit Gakupo where it counted, and his cock throbbed viciously in response. Gakupo's lips trailed along the edge of where Kaito's legs connected to his body, teasing the bluenette until he reached Kaito's hardening cock.

Gakupo opened his mouth to take a taste, there, too, and felt the bodily shiver from Kaito at the sensation.

'/I'm/ doing this to him,' Gakupo thought with a primal satisfaction, a deep sort of pleasure that wasn't physical. The violette opened his mouth further, guiding Kaito's cock in past his lips, into his warm, moist mouth. Gakupo closed his lips and sucked lightly, compressing Kaito's manhood within his mouth.

"Ugghhn," A soft moan came from Kaito and he let his head fall back, his hips arching the slightest amount. It felt /wonderful/.

Gakupo's eyes closed slightly, delighted at the sound, encouraged to do as he wanted. He let Kaito's cock fall away from his lips, then pushed back forwards, enveloping the blue-haired male once more within his hungry mouth.

Gakupo bobbed his head up and down, licking along the side of Kaito's penis, pressing his lips tightly together, then relaxing them, trying to fit as much of Kaito into his mouth as he could get without gagging. The soft sounds from the blue-haired Vocaloid were insanely sexy. Kaito's attactive scent was stronger, down here, with Gakupo's face pressed in tightly against his crotch.

Gakupo touched Kaito's ballsack, feeling the softness there. Kaito was letting him touch his most delicate, most vulnurable places. It made Gakupo feel like a king. He moved the balls around under his fingers a little, massaging them together, cupping them next to Kaito's body warmly, squeezing lightly, as he continued to suck the bluenette off. Gakupo could feel Kaito's thighs start to quiver, his balls start to tense, and he smiled around his mouthful.

Gakupo pulled reluctantly away, watching Kaito's flushed face carefully as he did so. There was time for him to help Kaito create all kinds of good memories. There was no need to rush things. First, he wanted to reclaim Kaito's body, rinse away the fact that Kaito's only experience so far had been a violent one. To press inside that sweet, soft, lightly muscular body in such a way that made Kaito cry out in real pleasure, instead of in pain.

Kaito made a despairing sound at losing the warmth and pressure of Gakupo's mouth on his cock. He met Gakupo's eyes, pleading silently with his blue eyes, 'Please, don't stop.' Gakupo smiled, feeling a little like a predator, and like Kaito was his willing, wonderful prey.

"I promised something a little different than that, this time," Gakupo explained, rising from his position on the bed in order to reach his nightstand drawer's contents. There was a small tub of vaseline, and Gakupo pulled it out. Usually he used it as lip balm, in the dry, fair weather. Kaito's eyes tracked his progress.

"It's going to be a little cool, and probably feel kind of slimy, but it'll warm up," Gakupo continued to explain as he returned to the bluenette, nudging his knees apart so that Gakupo could kneel comfortably between them. Kaito swallowed again, his face creasing lightly, but the pleasure of Gakupo's touches was still visible there, too.

"Put your knees up," Gakupo said softly. Kaito didn't move, silent for a moment.

"...Don't you want me to turn around?" The question was asked as Kaito turned his eyes away. Shame had returned to his lovely face. Gakupo shook his head in the negative, then spoke out loud, as Kaito wasn't looking at him.

"No. I want to see your face. If you want to try it a different way in the future, that's okay, too, but this time, let me look at you. Let me see you, Kaito. I want to watch while you feel good," Gakupo said, that slightly rough edge still in his voice.

Kaito raised his eyes, his blushing face had a slight frown on it, but he nodded his acceptance, and pulled his knees up to his chest, exposing himself for Gakupo. Kaito's face was burning, clearly questioning his own actions, as he turned his eyes away to the side again and waited.

'Probably thinking that I'll think he's disgusting or dirty again,' Gakupo thought unhappily. 'Nothing could be further than the truth. He's a work of art. I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful as this moment.'

Kaito was laid out like a buffet waiting for Gakupo. His arms lay lax to either side of him, the bedspread caressing his limbs. His legs were curled up against his smooth, pale chest, and his soft blue hair fell randomly across his face. Gakupo wanted that. What was in front of him, he wanted it.


	20. Chapter 20

Gakupo scooped up a fingerful of the cool vaseline, and stretched his other hand out to relax Kaito's legs to either side of him, still keeping them against his chest, just to either side.

"This is going to be a little cool, so just bear with it while it warms up, okay?" Gakupo asked softly, not wanting to frighten Kaito. Kaito nodded, swallowed, and braced himself.

Gakupo could see everything perfectly from this angle. Kaito's erect manhood, proud in the air. His perfect, round, soft balls that rested underneath. His tiny, pink little pucker. He could see the tension in Kaito's upper thighs as the bluenette held himself still, held himself open to Gakupo's touch.

Gakupo smeared the finger with the vaseline up against that sweet little pucker, feeling it twitch slightly underneath his fingertips. His eyes closed slightly, rubbed his finger up and down lightly, teasing Kaito's opening. Gakupo smiled to himself, the excitement in his chest growing. He flicked his purple eyes upwards to see Kaito staring at him, and he smiled back with shining eyes.

Kaito blushed. Gakupo looked so happy at the strange touch against Kaito's entrance. The cold lubricant warmed against his skin, feeling greasy. Gakupo was making tiny little circles against his asshole. It was as if he was trying to wait for Kaito to get used to the sensation before going any further.

'As if I could ever get used to /this,/' Kaito thought to himself in embarassment. It felt so sensitive, so incredibly intimate, Kaito didn't think he would ever be able to stop the blush that was increasing across his face.

Gakupo apparently felt like he had teased the bluenette enough, because Kaito felt a slight pressure against his hole. He tensed, suddenly afraid. Gakupo paused, feeling the tension, then pressed in a little more, and the vaseline eased his way inside until the tip of his finger was enveloped.

Kaito was panting, a small trickle of sweat was running down the front of his chest. His eyes were wide and he stared at Gakupo with an intense expression, as if needing to know, to KNOW that it was Gakupo there.

"It's me," Gakupo said, as if sensing the bluenette's thoughts. "It's me, that's doing this. It's me. I'm right here, Kaito. I'm with you."

Kaito grabbed onto those words desperately. Gakupo moved his fingertip slightly, vibrating it against Kaito's opening.

"U-uhh!" Kaito cried out, and let his head fall back against the bed. He didn't know what to do with the feelings that Gakupo's gentle, erotic touch were creating against the entrance to his asshole.

"It's a sensitive spot, isn't it?" Gakupo couldn't help chuckling a little, feeling the edge of his hunger harder against his stomach. "I want to make you feel so good, Kaito."

Kaito tried to catch his breath, as Gakupo smoothly pressed his finger even further in, up to the second knuckle, pausing again to wiggle around inside of Kaito. Kaito groaned.

"This is how it's /supposed/ to be," Gakupo whispered, smiling. "Together with someone I love."

Kaito's eyes snapped back open as he stared at the ceiling. Loved? Did Gakupo really just say that? But the violette didn't seem to catch his own slipup. He bent his head to his task, pressing in to Kaito's body with his finger, easing Kaito's opening up, gently, insistently, until he was loose enough that Gakupo felt Kaito could take in another finger without too much discomfort.

Another swipe of vaseline, just to be on the safe side. The shock of cool, followed by more of the greasy, intimate touches on Kaito's insides. Gakupo gently opened Kaito up further and further. The bluenette tried not to writhe on the bed, his legs splayed open carelessly, his hips shaking.

"Hmm," Gakupo said softly to himself as he watched the lovely bluenette's body's movements, his face, flushed with increasing pleasure, his mouth that was slightly open, panting breaths coming out from between his lips. Damn, but that was sexy.

"It should be somewhere around... here, I think," Gakupo continued to speak quietly, moving his fingers up inside of Kaito at an angle, seeking. Kaito's hole clenched against him, relaxed, shivered. Gakupo was rewarded suddenly by a jolt of Kaito's hips, a further hard clenching of his insides, and a shocked cry of pleasure. "Heh... found it."

"Wh-what, /was/ that?" Kaito gasped out, trying to recover from the feeling. A small drop of precum had formed on the tip of his penis. Gakupo leaned his head forward, letting his hair brush against Kaito's thighs as he licked at the fluid, wanting to taste it. "O-oh! Uhhn... Gakupo..." Kaito's beautiful voice sounded wonderful.

Gakupo smiled up at the bluenette, his lips still against Kaito's manhood. "That was your prostate. Feel good?"

"It felt... intense," Kaito's face was so flushed, that Gakupo couldn't tell whether those words were making him blush or not. "I-I'm not really sure, if it felt good, but, it didn't feel /bad/..." Kaito trailed off quietly.

"Should I do it again for you to find out?" Gakupo smiled, and didn't wait for Kaito's answer, before curling his fingers upwards again, aiming for that same spot. Kaito cried out, closing his beautiful eyes in a longing, esctatic expression. Gakupo let out a long, long breath. He really, really wanted this man.

"I'm going to put another finger inside," Gakupo told Kaito, pressing his middle finger up against Kaito's opening to join the other two. There was enough vaseline still smeared against his entrance, that Gakupo didn't bother with adding another swipe of the lubricant just yet. 'Best lip balm, ever,' He thought with a naughty smile.

Kaito made small, soft noises and grunts, as Gakupo eased up inside of his asshole. He started moving a little more quickly, feeling the need to be inside Kaito increasing exponentially as he prepped the bluenette, stretching Kaito more, relaxing his muscle as gently, but as efficiently as he could.

Gakupo's cock felt like he could punch through a board with it, it felt that hard. Gakupo sweatdropped at the thought, but it was true that his erection could no longer be ignored. He pulled his fingers out of Kaito, and they instantly longed to be returned to his tight, squeezing warmth.

"Kaito..." Gakupo needed to get the bluenette's attention, "I want to put it in. Is it okay?"

'Please say yes,' Gakupo's mind laughed a little hysterically. Kaito panted slightly, and his soft pink lips formed, "Yes, it's okay," as his baby blue eyes met Gakupo's purple eyes.

Gakupo smiled in sheer relief. Stopping now would have been, difficult, to say the least. When this beautiful man was splayed out in front of him... Gakupo smeared his hard cock with more vaseline, and placed another fingerful against Kaito's back entrance, just to be on the safe side.

The violette crawled up between Kaito's legs, his hips lining up with Kaito's buttocks. Gakupo looked up, catching Kaito's eyes, as he used his hand to aim his cock against Kaito's entrance. He refused to look away, wanting to watch Kaito every moment along the way, as he began to push slowly inside.

Kaito's eyes flinched, but he didn't look to be in any pain. That was good. Gakupo allowed himself to sink in a little further, revelling in the tightness and heat of Kaito's insides. He couldn't stop a very soft noise from dropping from his lips. Kaito's eyes moved slightly at that, encouraged at the sudden realization that maybe this was feeling good for Gakupo, too.

"Are you okay?" Gakupo asked, breathless, as he seated himself fully inside. "Does it hurt any?"

Kaito shook his head. "It feels like... pressure, but, it doesn't... hurt." The bluenette blushed again. "It's actually..."

"Actually what?" Gakupo asked, wanting to know, even though his body was screaming at him to move, to feel, to rub against the beautiful bluenette.

"It feels kind of... nice," Kaito mumbled. Gakupo's eyes narrowed.

"Oh," Gakupo said, and the edge of hunger was clear in his voice. Kaito's eyes widened for a second, then closed slightly, as if accepting Gakupo.

"I want to move," Gakupo couldn't quite find the words to ask for permission, but Kaito just nodded again, said, "Okay," and relaxed his legs even further for Gakupo. It was almost enough for the samurai to lose his last bit of control.

Moving slowly, carefully, so as not to cause fear or pain to the bluenette, Gakupo pulled out, pushed back in again, feeling the pressure against his cock as he started to fuck Kaito's body. The sound of twin breaths were in the air as Gakupo leaned over Kaito, his arms to either side of Kaito's shoulders, dominating the male. He pressed his lips back against Kaito's neck as he moved his hips back and forth.

"Ohh, mm," Kaito whispered, moving his neck to allow Gakupo an even better access. It felt strange, strange, the pressure, the movement, but so good. The warm kisses, Gakupo's licking his tongue against Kaito's neck, sucking him lightly, then trailing more kisses, up and down his neck, under his jaw, down along his collarbone. Soft, wonderful. It felt /so good./

Kaito's need for intimacy was being met, and it felt like the world was making sense again, like it was a good, good dream, and Kaito didn't ever want to wake up from it. Gakupo's abdomen rubbed lightly against Kaito's manhood, and he jolted, pushing his hips upwards to get more of the intimate touch.

"Gakupo, more," He urged the violette on huskily, holding Gakupo's purple head with his arm stubs. He wanted to run his fingers through that soft, silky hair that tickled against him as Gakupo kissed him, loved him. The knowledge that that would never be possible to happen ached against him. Kaito's breath came out in soft pants. "More."

Gakupo snapped his hips forward, losing control for a brief moment at that sexy voice begging him. His violet eyes widened, realizing he was moving too fast, too hard, but Kaito moaned loudly, and pushed back against him, craving more, more. Gakupo's eyes closed, reopened, and he pushed forward hard, again, elicting yet another throaty, approving moan from the bluenette.

He didn't need to be careful anymore. The thought posessed all of Gakupo's mental facilities, and he pressed his hips forward again, again, hard, harder, faster, causing the bluenette to cry out louder, faster, trying to grip Gakupo's body to his with not only his arm stubs, but with his legs, wrapping around Gakupo's hips.

Kaito rocked his hips against Gakupo, calling out the violette's name, and a shiver ran down Gakupo's body to lodge in his now-weeping cock.

"Uhhhhn," Gakupo moaned, his breath against Kaito's cheek as he continued to fuck the bluenette hard, feeling the tension in his lower stomach as a physical ache. Kaito lifted his head and kissed Gakupo messily with an open mouth, his tongue demanding all of Gakupo's affection, as they rocked strongly back and forth.

"NNNn!" Kaito cried out inside of Gakupo's mouth, his lips and tongue slacking, and his thighs trembling hard. Gakupo felt a shock of wet warmth shooting against his stomach, and the shaking of Kaito's insides, as the bluenette came all over him. It caused Gakupo to utter his own desperate moan.

Gakupo gave up any pretense of holding back, slamming hard against Kaito's body, seeking the friction that would give him the badly needed release. Gakupo's mouth was open, panting hard, moaning from the pleasure of Kaito's body, as he sought, sought, reached towards his own esctatic release.

"Kaito, please!" Gakupo cried out, and felt Kaito's elbows wrapping around his neck, pulling him back into a deep, deep kiss. Gakupo moaned into the bluenette's mouth as he felt Kaito's tongue stroking him, felt Kaito's body cradling him. Felt Kaito's warmth, tightness, and his own movements finally reach him towards his desperate orgasm.

"Uhhmmnn!" Gakupo cried out into Kaito's mouth, tried to fling his head back and arch his back, but Kaito wouldn't release his limbs' grips on the violette's head or hips, and Gakupo came, came, his mouth inside of Kaito's, his cock deep inside of Kaito's body, wrapped up in the bluenette's embrace.

Gakupo's hips shuddered, shivered. He panted against Kaito's mouth, which was still seeking his mouth's touch. He pressed his lips hard up against the bluenette's, as if tasting the sense of his own esctacy along the full length of his relaxing body.

"Haa... haaa," Gakupo tried to catch his breath, as his heart slowed back down to a reasonable pace. Kaito licked against his lips, longing to taste Gakupo just a little bit more. Gakupo licked back, then pulled away, smiling in pleasured exhaustion. "Are... you okay, Kaito?"

The bluenette allowed Gakupo to move from his embrace, his face soft, looking somehow... happy. "Yeah."

Gakupo looked down and sweatdropped, smiling and blushing lightly as he said, "Uh, I should go get you some tissues, to help you clean up."

"It's okay," came the soft reply from Kaito. Gakupo looked back up to meet his blue eyes. "It's not dirty."

Gakupo's eyes widened, then softened, and he gave Kaito a wonderful smile. "You're right."

Kaito reached his arm stubs up again, in the same "embrace me" way that he had done before Gakupo had taken him. The violette smiled warmly, and returned to his lover's embrace.

"You're wonderful, Kaito. You made me so happy. Thank you," Gakupo said softly, pressing his face against Kaito's soft blue hair. The bluenette simply smiled, and snuggled closer, closing his eyes, and allowing himself to drift off into a pleasant, satisfied sleep, within the arms of his lover.


	21. Chapter 21

"She shouldn't have gone back," Mikuo said in a low voice. Taito lifted his head and turned it to listen to his friend. It was another day of going from store to store, standing on street corners to hand out flyers, knocking on strangers' doors. Another day wasted, another fruitless search. "Going back for a picture, how stupid can you get? Like a picture is worth losing someone over? Why does Rin have to be so stubborn?"

"Sounds like she's just like you," Taito offered. "An idiot, and stubborn. I'd like to meet her." Taito gave a small, quirky half smile at his own words.

Mikuo snapped back, "Well, /you're/ just like-" He stopped, not able to figure out the end part of his reply, so he just scowled and let the words drop off. Taito was quiet for a moment.

"Like Kaito?" Taito asked into the silence.

"What?" Mikuo looked back at his friend in surprise. "No. What, why? How are the two of you anything alike?"

"Seriously?" Taito had to ask. "If you put a purple wig on him, the guy could pass for me easily. He could replace me in our Master's home and nobody would even notice. Except for the hands thing, of course."

Mikuo looked at Taito oddly, and the dark-purple haired Vocaloid male looked blankly back at him.

"That's... just stupid. You're Taito. Nobody can replace you." Mikuo said after a moment, then shook his head in frustration. Mikuo didn't catch Taito's pupils enlargening slightly at that, and the dark-purple haired Vocaloid didn't give any indication of the change in facial expression to help him out, either.

"It's been over four days," Mikuo was looking down at his hands, the flyers with Rin's picture on them crumpling as he clenched his fists in angry helplessness. Taito looked at the teal-haired male's face expressionlessly. It was no wonder Mikuo was upset; at this point, the likelihood of Rin's still being alive was growing more and more slim.

Taito watched his friend carefully, but the male Vocaloid didn't say anything more. "Do you wanna try K Street next?" Taito asked in his light voice after a moment.

"No, I don't want to try K Street!" Mikuo suddenly raised his voice, attracting the attention of nearby pedestrians as he flung the flyers out in a flurry of paper before him, holding his arms out wide in front of him as he continued to yell. "I don't want to try the market, the police station, K Street, any street! I just want my damn friend back!"

"Then don't throw your flyers all over the street like a dumbass," Taito said in the same light tone.

"I don't know what else I'm supposed to do," Mikuo quieted down, his face making a pained expression, his teeth clenching. "This is so fucked up. Every minute I waste out here on the street, all I can think of is, is she still alive? Is she still even alive?

"I don't even care if her Master hurt her. I don't care, I... just... want her back. I... I never visited her as much as I should have. Why didn't I spend time with her more? Why didn't I... why didn't I ever tell her that I liked her? I just... if I see her, if I talk to her again, I won't ever, ever be afraid to say it to her, again. I won't worry about anything, I won't ask for anything. I just want her back, Taito."

Mikuo felt tears raising up hot in his eyes and angrily tried to push the shameful feeling away, but it wasn't any good. He bowed his head and tried to hide his face with his hair as tears rose up despite his best efforts, to roll silently down his cheeks.

Taito watched, his face a mask of pure, unexpressionless stone. It was actually surprising that it had taken Mikuo this long to crack under the weight of his anxiety for Rin.

There was an instant shimmer of light in the air, and suddenly there was a tiny, tiny damp place on the ground under Mikuo's bowed face. The teal-haired male turned away from Taito, not wanting to be observed in that moment.

"Let's just... try the corner shop, one more time." Mikuo's voice was thick and quiet, he didn't lift his head though. Taito saw the teal-haired male's hand reach up to touch against his face, wiping away the moisture there angrily.

Taito's eyes narrowed. "...Yeah. It can't hurt."

...

The house was utterly silent. The darkness of the night was complete; there wasn't even the light of a crescent moon to betray him as Taito silently walked out of the house, the car keys in his hands.

It hadn't been easy to get the things he'd needed; it had meant leaving Mikuo alone for part of the afternoon to acquire the right supplies. He knew that Mikuo wouldn't hold it against him, and he'd had an excuse ready, in case the teal-haired Vocaloid male had asked him, but it had been unnecessary.

After Mikuo's outburst on the street earlier that day, the teal-haired Vocaloid male had been subdued, quiet, focusing only on doing the only thing he could do in these circumstances: keep trying, no matter how pointless or hopeless it seemed. Taito resented that he'd had to leave his friend's side for even a moment, but there was no way Mikuo would go for the somewhat insane plan Taito had hatched in that moment when Mikuo had bowed his head down, had turned away from him, because the teal-haired male was ashamed of crying in front of Taito.

Taito turned the car on, placing a set of ugly yellow rubber kitchen gloves on the seat beside him. He wasn't sure how things were going to go down; maybe he wouldn't even need the things he had bought. But, considering what he did know... it didn't hurt to have more than one plan to fall back on. Taito's blue eyes narrowed again, as he remembered Mikuo's form from that afternoon. Taito pulled out of the driveway quietly, and took off down the road, leaving his Master, and his friend, behind him sleeping in the house.

...

Rin couldn't sleep. Her face and body hurt too much. The metal restraint around her left ankle kept her from being able to move far from her spot on the floor. She had pulled and pulled against it the first night, hours after Master had left and she had recovered enough strength to struggle again, but it had been useless. All she had gained was an angry, raw, red place on her leg for her troubles.

Rin's hands weren't bound, so she was able to bring her trembling fingers back up to her face again, feeling the nasty injuries that Master had cut into her soft, girlish face. He had brought a mirror, so she knew how badly the rough cuts under her fingers looked.

He had laughed at her after he had done it. Told her that she was ugly now, and no one but Master had wanted her even before this. Reminded her how she was the last Vocaloid of the stock the store had on hand, when he had purchased her. Told her she was worthless now, even to him. Ugly. Ruined.

The other things Master had done were worse. Much, much worse. Rin pulled her legs up against her naked, bruised body, and tried not to flinch at the feeling of her flesh pulling against the other cuts and injuries on her body. The long, sharp knife that Master had delighted to use on her was off to the side of the room, near the door, and out of her reach. She couldn't see it in the dark, moonless night, but she knew it was there, and it taunted her and laughed at her, letting her know that things weren't over yet.

The early summer weather was still cold at night, and Rin shivered. Her stomach hurt, badly. Her backside hurt, too. In the darkness of the night, the memories flooded over her. Master laughing. Master hitting her, kicking her. Cutting her golden hair and flinging it into her face.

Master turning her over as she screamed and struggled with everything she was, whispering to her that while Kaito was gone, she would take his place for everything he needed to do for Master, from here on out. Master as he pushed against her back entrance, tearing her open, so that the blood flowed. Master holding her mouth shut as her eyes went crazy from fear and pain, cutting off her airways so that she suffocated as he raped her, again, again, and again.

Rin closed her eyes, trying to shut out the memories. She thought she should cry, but the tears were dry for now. She felt like a doll, something to be used, broken, and thrown away with the rest of the garbage.

But hell if she would give Master Kaito.

Never. Her trembling fingers felt gently against her face, obsessively.

Never.


	22. Chapter 22

Piko stirred in his sleep, his heterochromatic eyes fluttering open at a soft sound near Master's bed. His eyes flew wide in sudden shock as an inhuman, rubbery hand clenched itself firmly over his mouth. He struggled with all his might with his tiny body, but the owner of the hands grabbed him, picked him up, Piko's mouth still covered, and carried him away. Piko tried to scream through the glove, but all that came out were muffled noises that Master didn't hear, as the human male turned over in bed, and continued to sleep comfortably.

"Shut up, kid," A soft, light, male voice said to him, as they reached the front door. "If you shout, I'm gonna have to hurt you."

Piko's eyes widened further, but he stopped struggling and trying to yell. The hand removed itself from his mouth, and Piko trembled as the door was opened and he was carried outside into the cool night air. The stranger walked down the street a ways, up to a car that Piko didn't recognize, and set the white-haired boy on the ground, holding his shoulders firmly so he couldn't run away.

The kid looked terrified. Taito looked at the bruises on the white-haired Vocaloid child's face and around his neck, and took in the stains on his pajama bottoms.

"You should have gone with the samurai when he warned you," Taito said quietly. Piko's frightened face lacked comprehension at Taito's comment, so the bluenette continued, "I'm going to tie you up and put you in the trunk. It's for your own good, so your Master doesn't get you again. Don't try to fight me, or I'll knock you out, and do it anyway."

Piko stared back at Taito, his huge eyes standing out against his pale, bruised face. Taito knelt, turned the child around by his shoulders, and tied Piko's hands behind his back with a plastic zip tie. The kid's body was shaking.

"W-who are you?" The tiny voice asked in fear, as Taito picked up an oversized rag and turned Piko back towards him again. Taito smiled his quirky little half smile, and Piko tried to draw back from it, his small face a mask of terror.

"I'm 'Kaito,'" Taito continued to smile, and Piko's eyes widened even further at the name.

"Master thought I was you," Piko whispered, terrified. Taito regarded the kid a moment, then demanded,

"Open your mouth."

Piko's eyes filled up with tears. 'Probably imagining something else,' Taito thought to himself. He held up the rag and Piko glanced at it, reluctantly doing as he was told. Taito shoved it inside the kid's mouth, to ensure he couldn't yell and alert his Master.

Piko's teary eyes followed Taito as the bluenette stood back up, picked Piko's body up, popped the trunk, and deposited the young Vocaloid male inside, closing it gently over him.

...

"Master, wake up," A soft, almost familar voice was saying. Master groaned unhappily, waking from his sleep at the insistant request. "Master."

Master cracked his eyes open, then his eyes flew wide, and he sat straight up in bed as he took in Kaito's form standing in front of the bed.

"I've come home to you," Kaito said, his face utterly expressionless. Master's eyes scanned his Vocaloid's body, noting the ridiculous, oversized yellow rubber kitchen gloves that were pulled up over his arm stumps. Master smiled, his eyes gleaming in shock and pleasure. Kaito wasn't fooling anyone with those gloves. Master knew there was nothing inside of them. Master felt a tendril of excitement unfurling inside his stomach. Kaito was back. Kaito was his.

"I missed you, Kaito. Why did you run away from me?" Master moved silkily closer to the Vocaloid male, smiling darkly up at Kaito's face. He reached out to touch Kaito's cheek, feeling its smoothness. Kaito allowed the touch and didn't move away. 'That's right,' Master thought, thrilled.

"I want you to take me to where Rin is," Kaito said in reply. Master's fingers twitched, and his smile turned into a snarl as he grabbed Kaito by the jaw and wrenched Kaito's face up next to his own.

"You come home to me, and all you want is to see Rin, not me?!" Master did everything he could not to scream his rage and suddenly overwhelming jealousy into Kaito's face, but it didn't work very well. Master felt a pressure inside of his head, and his eyes were wild with the sudden intense anger. "I love you so much. You are mine. Why does someone else's name come out of your mouth?!"

Kaito regarded him cooly, and replied calmly, "I just wanted to say goodbye to her. After this, you and I can stay together. You only need me, right?"

Master froze, his wild eyes bulging out of his head slightly for a moment, and he relaxed his grip on Kaito's jaw. Kaito didn't try to pull away. Master felt a great joy balloon inside his chest as he digested Kaito's words. Quietly, with the sound of deep pleasure in his voice, Master spoke again.

"I see... I see, Kaito. You're absolutely right. I only need you. That female Vocaloid that you touched, is nothing, is worthless. You are the only one that I love."

"Rin can't keep you from me, Master. Let me see her, so that I can show her that she can't keep us apart any longer," The soft, light tone of Kaito's quiet voice sounded a little strange, but there was no doubt in Master's mind that this was indeed his beloved Vocaloid male, returned to him by his own free will. "Take me there, so I can say goodbye to her, forever. Then, nobody will kidnap me away from you again."

"So that's what happened," Master said in a soft croon, his face smiling once more. "That's why she refused to tell me where you were, Kaito. Hahaha... alright, I will show you where she is. You will like what I've done to her, Kaito. She's been punished for trying to steal you away from me."

"Show me," Kaito asked, staring into Master's eyes with his beautiful blue ones. Master shivered a little in pleasure.

...

Master opened the passenger side door of his car for Kaito to get in. The bluenette sat down quietly, and waited while Master got into the driver's side. Master turned on the car, smiling in excitement at Kaito, his eyes shining. Kaito stared back at Master, watching him carefully as the human male started the vehicle and pulled out of the driveway.

Master thrilled that every time he glanced over at Kaito, the bluenette's eyes were still fixed on Master's face. That was as it should be. 'Look only at me,' Master thought, with pleasure, towards the bluenette. It wasn't a terribly long drive, but it was a bit out of the way, and the paved road turned into dirt road, as Master went off the beaten path, towards Rin's hideout.

"We're here, Kaito," Master grinned at the bluenette, and moved out of the vehicle to open the bluenette's door for him, feeling another little tendril of pleasure as he did so. 'You can't do anything without me, now,' Master thought, enjoying the knowledge. 'You are only mine.'


	23. Chapter 23

Taito got out of the car and followed Master to what appeared to be an abandoned toolshed that was surrounded by sparse forest, that was off of the winding dirt road they had been driving on. Master pulled a key from his keyring out, and unlocked the padlock that was keeping the door chained shut. The door creaked a little, the sound of abused, old metal grating against itself, as Master pulled the door to the side, opening it for his beloved Vocaloid to go inside.

A small, thin, blonde Vocaloid female was sitting on the floor, her ankle chained to the opposite wall of the shed. Her nude body was covered with fresh scabs, older scabs, at varying degrees of healing, large, angry bruises, and long, nasty, jagged cuts across her pale flesh. Her hair had been hacked off in an unflattering way. Her face had been cut open in long, ugly gashes that ran across her face like cracks in a glass. Her blue eyes stared, wide, horrified, at Taito, as he stepped into the shed, and he regarded her.

Rin's eyes suddenly looked confused, then went defiant, and she pulled her small lips back in an aggressive grimace that showed her white, straight teeth. Taito couldn't help himself for the small, half-smile that rose on his face as he regarded her. Really, she was just like how he had imagined. Like Mikuo to a T.

Rin's blue eyes sparked with hate at Taito's small expression. When he had walked through the door, Rin's heart had stopped for a moment, sure that Master had somehow, somehow, gotten his hands back on Kaito. But the blank look on this Kaito's face was not Kaito's look, the way he held himself was not the way Kaito held himself. The blue eyes that stared at her hurt body with no emotion... those were NOT Kaito's eyes.

This person, whoever he was, was a fake. And he thought that her situation was /funny./ Her rapidly growing hate took a backseat to fear as Master followed the false Kaito in to the shed, though.

"Do you like what I did, Kaito? She looks pretty ugly now, doesn't she?" Master smiled happily at his blue-haired Vocaloid. Taito glanced back at him.

"What kind of a lock is that?" The bluenette asked, looking at Rin's ankle restraint. Master chuckled and dangled his keychain, the sound of the metal keys taunting Rin's ears. She cowered back a little, her eyes narrowing in fear and hatefulness as Master stepped closer, grinning.

"The kind that we won't need in a few minutes. After all, I only need you. Right, Kaito?" Master spoke quietly, a gleeful light to his eyes. "No one will want such a bad, useless Vocaloid as this. There is no need to return her. I think the only appropriate thing to do now is... uninstall her operating system. Don't you think so, Kaito?"

Master's fingers reached out to stroke Taito's cheek, cupping the Vocaloid's face in his warm hand. Taito smiled again, the same, semi-mocking-looking half-smile that he had showed Rin, and snuck his left hand behind him to pull out what looked like a nasty ice pick from his back pocket.

Rin's eyes widened in disbelief as Taito snapped his arm forward forcefully, stabbing the pick deep into her Master's chest. Master bellowed in surprise and pain, gripping his chest, blood instantly soaking his shirt as Taito pulled the pick back out of Master's body. Master dropped his keys, falling backwards onto his ass, his gaping expression one of pain, disbelief, shock, and fury. Taito bent to pick the keys up.

"You!" Master sputtered in an intense rage that was half scream. Taito gave Master one of his rare full smiles, and turned to unlock Rin's ankle restraint. Master lunged at him from the floor, grabbing him by one leg and pulling Taito hard to unbalance him. The bluenette fell down on the floor, dropping his ice pick and the keys from the shock of the impact. The pick rolled a short distance aways, just out of his immediate reach.

Master pulled himself up along Taito's body, still bleeding profusely, his face a mask of dark rage. He grabbed Taito's head and slammed it against the ground. Taito's vision went starry, and he tried to grapple with Master, but the human male was his superior in weight, size, strength, and muscle. Taito's eyes glanced over to where Rin sat, frozen in shock, staring at the two of them in horror. Her hands were against her mouth, her eyes were terrified.

"Don't look at her!" Master screamed in Taito's face, slamming the Vocaloid's head down against the floor again, hard, again, again. "Don't look at anybody but me! I'm going to cut your eyes out so you can never look at anybody else again!"

Master had gotten a knife from somewhere. Taito cursed himself, that he hadn't checked the area carefully enough for weapons that might have been lying around, before he made his move. He felt nauseous and lightheaded from the head trauma, but his blue eyes opened wide as he saw the knife coming down towards his face, unable to do anything to stop the human male, who had him overpowered.

"No! Stop!" Rin's shriek rang out, as Master stabbed violently downwards into Taito's eye socket, rupturing the organ. Taito screamed, a light toned scream of pain like he had never before felt. Master laughed, gasping, bleeding onto Taito's body as he topped the smaller male. Taito held both his hands to his eye, the knife sticking out gruesomely from between them as blood ran down over his gloved fingers.

Rin's eyes were wild as she watched Master, right in front of her, insanity in his eyes as he threw his head back and laughed. Her eyes caught on the still slightly rolling ice pick that Taito had dropped, and her small hands grabbed at it.

Master howled as Rin propelled herself forward and stabbed at him with every ounce of strength she had left in her small, injured body, hitting him in the side of the neck while he was distracted with his insane laughter. Red, hot fluid spurted against her cheek and her nude chest and arm from the wound in Master's neck as she ripped the pick back away from the injury she had inflicted, and Master rolled to his side, shrieking, clutching at his gushing wound.

Taito grabbed the pick from her, his one working eye focused on Master through the haze of intense agony, his other hand still clutching against his ruined eye socket. Master was gushing blood over the floor, and screaming, but the scream bubbled.

"Why... WHY?" The bubbling scream came as Master regarded Taito advancing upon him, the pick in his hand. "I love you! I love you!"

"Because you made Mikuo cry," Taito said simply. Taito leaned over the male human and struck with force against the front of Master's neck, silencing him. The human struggled, his hands desperately holding against his neck, his eyes bulging outwards, choking on his own bleeding, gaping, gushing injuries, until he suddenly went limp, and his eyes lost focus. The strong pulse of blood from his throat wounds lessened, draining more calmly down Master's front and from his mouth.

Rin was panting, staring at Master's still body, her mind screaming at her. Taito grabbed the knife that was still stuck in his eye with a howl of pain that shivered down Rin's spine as he pulled it free with all of his strength. He took a moment to dry heave from the intense, debilitating pain, panting on his own as he knelt on all fours against the floor and tried to recover himself. Tried to ignore the excessive quantity of blood pouring down his face from his head wound.

Taito looked with his one remaining eye back to where Rin sat on the floor, breathing hard. "Thanks. Brat."

Rin stared blankly back at him, then started to laugh, a crazed, hysterical laugh that went on for what felt to Taito like a long time. He cracked his half-smile back at her after a moment, and her laugh filled with tears that fell down her face.

Taito felt a little unsteady as he rose back to his feet, the bloodloss making him even more lightheaded. He knelt next to Rin with the keys, unlocking her ankle. Stared at her nude body again, and she stopped laughing and stared at him challengingly, feeling ashamed and utterly dirty, but refusing to back down.

Taito awkwardly unbuttoned his shirt, stripped it off, and tossed it at her. "Not that I mind the view," He cracked, his face blank of expression, save for the little half-smile that was still on his lips. Rin regarded him seriously, then put the shirt on, wincing as she put her arms through the sleeves. It was too big, and it hung ridiculously on her frame... but the benefit of the wrong size was that it also covered her to the tops of her thighs. Rin nodded, seriously, looking at Taito.

"You need a hospital."

"Yeah... think we both do," Taito replied easily in his light tone. Taito stood back up unsteadily, and walked back over to Master, the long, sharp knife glinting in his hand.

"What are you doing?" Rin asked, watching him.

"Getting a present," Taito answered. "For the /real/ Kaito." After a slight pause, that half-smile appeared once again. "Maybe for the samurai, too. I'm such a nice guy."

Taito raised the knife.


	24. Chapter 24

"Taito," Mikuo called out groggily through the dark-purple haired Vocaloid's door. "Have you seen my towel?"

Mikuo knocked again, resting his head against Taito's door. He felt like crap. The nightmares last night had all been about Rin, crying out for him from a dark, cold place that he couldn't quite reach, no matter how much he strained. He felt like he hadn't slept at all. "Taito," Mikuo called out again, groaning to himself.

The teal-haired Vocaloid male gave up, turning the knob and letting himself into his friend's room without Taito's permission. Mikuo frowned as he took in the empty room. His eyes caught on his blue-and-green striped bath towel folded neatly on Taito's bed, next to Master's solid aqua-blue towel, and Taito's own yellow-and-white towel, both also neatly folded. A piece of paper was on top of Mikuo's towel.

Mikuo stepped into the room, picked up the scrap of paper, and bent his head to read it.

'I took the car keys. Tell the samurai to pick you up. I will meet you there, if I'm not back yet.' Mikuo frowned deeper. What the hell was this about?

Mikuo put the paper back down on the bed, grabbing the three towels, to return them to their places in the bathroom, then made his way down the hallway to pick up the phone. It rang a few times, before Gakupo's familiar voice sounded on the other end of the line.

"Hey, Gakupo. Let me talk to Taito," Mikuo said, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and feeling more than a little annoyed. There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

"He's not here. Isn't he with you at your Master's house? It's still early. You woke us," Gakupo answered, and Mikuo could hear the slight frown in the violette's own voice.

"He left me a note, saying 'get you to pick me up,' I figured that meant he went to visit you," Mikuo felt a growing misgiving at the situation. "If he's not there, where is he?"

"I haven't heard anything from him," Gakupo replied. Mikuo took a breath and sighed.

"Right. Listen, sorry to bother you, but..." Mikuo trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose as the feeling of stress started to build up there.

"...Sure. Give us a few minutes to get ready, and we'll swing by to pick you up," Gakupo replied, knowing exactly what Mikuo was intending to say. "I'll call you back if he shows up, before that."

"Thanks, man," Mikuo said briefly, hanging up the phone.

...

Taito pulled up into the driveway, turning off his Master's vehicle, and getting out of the driver's side door. He picked up the package that was resting on the seat beside him, and walked with quick steps up the drive, knocked on the door, and let himself inside without waiting for a reply from anyone inside.

Mikuo was standing up, on his way to the door, as he caught sight of Taito. There were bandages over one of his eyes and over a portion of his face, keeping the eye bandage in place. There were fresh bruises all over Taito's face, and a cut on his lip. The... bluenette? What the hell? caught Mikuo's eyes with his own purple eye, and gave his quirky little half-smile.

"What the hell happened?" Mikuo demanded, anger and worry in his voice as he grabbed Taito's arm and pulled him forward, to look closer at his friend's face. Taito pulled away, looking past Mikuo to see Kaito sitting at the table, and Gakupo standing next to him.

"Talk to me," Mikuo demanded. "What the hell are those bandages? And why is your hair blue?"

"Used dye," Taito answered in his light tone, leaving Mikuo as he walked to the table, and carelessly flung the package with a soft smacking sound onto the table in front of Kaito. "I brought you a present," Taito finished, his emotionless face giving nothing away.

Kaito looked worriedly up at him, and glanced at Gakupo. The violette glanced back, looked at Taito, and pulled open the package. A pair of dismembered hands with meaty ends appeared. Gakupo covered the body parts back up immediately, his eyes full of fury, as he grabbed Kaito to him, expecting the bluenette to react terribly to the grisly sight.

"What the HELL are you thinking? Where the hell did you get those?" The samurai raised his voice, beyond furious. "Are you fucking INSANE?" The violette took a threatening step towards Taito.

"Those... are those... Master's hands?" A soft, soft whisper came from Kaito's mouth. Gakupo froze in his tracks, looking back at the bluenette in disbelief.

"Yeah," Taito replied easily, then turned his eyes from Kaito to glance back at Mikuo. "I brought you a present too. It's still in the car."

Mikuo's eyes widened, and he broke instantly into a run towards the door, slamming it open and not bothering to close it as he sprinted towards the car that was parked in the driveway.

He stopped suddenly as golden hair and blue eyes came into his sight. Rin slowly opened the door and got out, dressed only in hospital pajamas. She met Mikuo's eyes, flinching a little.

"Oh, my god," Mikuo breathed, taking in the cuts to Rin's face, the evidence of bruises going down her neck, her damaged hair. Tears rose up in his throat as he stared into her crystal clear blue eyes. Her face was clenched in a mask of carefully controlled emotion as Mikuo regarded her.

Mikuo grabbed her shoulders to him, shocking her as he suddenly propelled her small body into his arms, hugging her to his chest. "Thank you. Thank you," He whispered in a heartfelt, choked voice. "Oh god, thank you."

Rin's eyes went wide and she didn't resist as she was hugged tightly, even though the pressure against her injuries hurt badly. She trepidly raised her arms after a moment, and wrapped them around Mikuo's body.

Rin looked up as her peripheral vision took in movement, refocusing on Taito who had rejoined them, along with Gakupo and Kaito, in the driveway. She tried an uncomfortable smile, which felt foreign on her face. Rin swallowed.

"Hey, guys." Rin said.

Kaito opened his mouth to speak, but Mikuo had Rin's face in his hands, tilting her head to look back up at him. He leaned forward and lightly pressed his lips against Rin's, feeling her warm, living skin against his mouth. He pulled away after a moment, smiling a heartbreaking smile.

Rin gaped up at the teal-haired male. He just closed his eyes from the strength of his smile for a moment, then opened them back up and explained, "I promised myself, that when I found you, it was the first thing I would do. Well, I guess I wasn't really the one who found you, though."

Mikuo looked over at Taito with shining eyes, and the now-bluenette walked quietly over to him, standing right next to Rin. Mikuo let one of his hands drop from Rin's body to place his hand on Taito's shoulder, and gave Taito the full force of his joyful expression.

Taito stared back at Mikuo for a moment, then reached up his hand to grab Mikuo's cheek, tilting it in a sheer instant, and pulling the teal-haired male down into a kiss with himself. Mikuo's eyes flew open wide in utter shock. Taito let go, and smirked.

"You're welcome," The now-bluenette said, glancing at Rin, and smiling an unexpected, full smile at the petite blonde before wandered back away from them, back towards the house.

"W-what the hell, was that?" Mikuo called out after Taito, a full blush on his face.

"I have a thing for stubborn idiots, I guess," The light-toned voice called back quietly from the doorway as Taito closed the house door behind him.

Rin stared after Taito, a strange expression that bloomed into a helpless smile on her face. Mikuo continued to gape after Taito, then lifted his hand and held his hair in disbelief.

Rin met Kaito's eyes, and her smile faded a little. The bluenette didn't approach her any further, and his eyes were quiet. He took in her face. Rin couldn't do it; she looked away, feeling a growing flush of shame.

"I'm sorry," Kaito said softly. Gakupo put his warm arm around Kaito's shoulders, giving silent support with his proximity. Rin continued to look down at the ground. "It's my fault that you were hurt," The bluenette continued, a quiet edge of pain in his voice.

Rin looked back up, surprised. "No... it isn't, what are you saying, Kaito?" Rin flushed, and looked back down, feeling badly. "It was Master. It was never you. When... when Taito came to get me... I thought it was you, at first. I thought... Master had gotten you back. I don't think I've ever been so scared. I'm glad you are alright, Kaito."

Rin's soft, high voice was the sweetest sound as she finished speaking. Mikuo hugged the blonde Vocaloid female back to himself, and she allowed it, feeling comforted by the presence of her friends.

"I see that there's one more guest," Gakupo's voice broke into the quiet void in the conversation, his eyes picking out a small, white-haired head in the backseat of the car. Rin nodded, and pulled away from Mikuo again. She walked to the car side door and opened it.

"Piko, come out. These are our friends," Rin said softly to the young male Vocaloid. Piko's eyes locked on Gakupo, recognizing him. The violette silently took in the bruises on his face, but nodded in acknowledgement.

"Let's all go inside," Gakupo suggested, and turned his purple eyes to Kaito, who looked back up at him. "Okay, Kaito?"

The bluenette nodded, and leaned into Gakupo as the violette walked with him, arm still around Kaito's shoulder, back towards the house. Rin took Piko's hand, and Mikuo took Rin's hand. They smiled at one another with small smiles, and followed Kaito and Gakupo in to the house, closing the door behind them.


	25. Chapter 25

"Is it okay, if she stays with us for a while, Master?" Mikuo asked quietly as he watched Taito and Rin sitting together in the living room, working on a puzzle together. Well, Rin was working on the puzzle. Taito was watching her working on it, occassionally giving her a random piece, as if somehow that was helpful, which she would take, look at, arch her eyebrow at the dark-purple haired Vocaloid, and then place back down with the other currently useless pieces.

"Well, it's fine by me," Master watched the pair also, his brow wrinkling slightly in concern for the blonde female. "But under normal circumstances, she would need to be returned immediately to the store that she was purchased from."

"You mean, like used merchandise?" Mikuo felt appalled, the words had a nasty taste in his mouth. "I've never heard of that... actually happening before."

"Well, it's pretty uncommon, but it does happen. She might have a little trouble being repurchased though, considering her condition," Master paused, then explained, "But, it's not impossible. You know, Taito was a return, too, when I picked him up."

Mikuo's attention focused intensely on his Master. "I... didn't know that. What happened?"

"The details weren't given to me," Master admitted, his eyes still watching his Vocaloid male, as Taito offered yet another useless piece, and Rin smacked him lightly on the back of the head. The dark-purple haired Vocaloid smiled his quirky half-smile. Master smiled at the sight.

Taito rose to his feet suddenly, and walked over to where Mikuo and Master were speaking softly. He stood quietly, looking at the pair, and crossed his arms over his chest, frowning.

"Taito? How are you feeling?" Master had asked him so many times since he had come home that morning. Taito didn't respond, just staring Master down with his one remaining purple eye, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. Master sweatdropped.

"I want to keep her," Taito stated bluntly. Master blinked. So did Mikuo.

"Don't return her," was all he said, before he left the pair, walking into his room and closing the door behind him. Mikuo and Master stared after him in disbelief, then exchanged their own glances.

"I... I'd like that too, Master," Mikuo admitted, a blush staining his cheeks and nose. Master put his hand up to his face and scrubbed it against his eyes and cheeks.

"You know, I think that's the first time I've /ever/ heard Taito ask for anything," Master mumbled through his hand. He dropped his hand back down to his side, staring at Rin, who was standing up and rubbing her palm against her thin shoulder, as if it ached.

Mikuo glanced back at Master. Master sighed a very, very long sigh, but then smiled, running his hand through his hair.

"Hey... Rin? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Master summoned the petite blonde female, who turned her head at his words. Rin nodded, her blue eyes solemn, and walked over to join Master.

Mikuo watched the two walk away into the dining room to talk. He turned to go to Taito's room, a hidden, happy smile threatening to break out on his face. He knew that look of Master's very well. Mikuo knocked on Taito's door.

"What?" The light voice called back from the other side.

"I'm coming in," Mikuo said, and turned the knob. Taito glanced up at the teal-haired male with a blank look. Mikuo let his smile beam forth.

Taito stared at Mikuo for a long moment, then slowly, slowly, smiled back.

...

"I'm a little scared," Kaito admitted, anxiously. "What if your Master doesn't like me? What if he doesn't want me to stay?"

Gakupo tried to smile encouragingly. He and Kaito were getting ready to pick Master up from the airport. "We'll just have to see how it goes, I guess. But it's okay. Whatever happens, I've got your back. You know that."

Kaito nodded, but he looked unhappy and worried.

The ride to the airport was silent and tense. Gakupo's hands clenched the steering wheel hard as he drove.

The airplane was late. The line of passengers coming out seemed never ending. Kaito's anxiety at being around so many people was palpable. Gakupo kept his arm tightly around the bluenette, providing nonverbal support. The bluenette was wearing one of Gakupo's slightly oversized shirts, the long sleeves hanging down over his stumps, disguising them to some extent.

"There he is," Gakupo announced after what felt like an eternity. The violette moved forwards, dropping his arm from Kaito, to greet his returning Master. Kaito swallowed against his nervousness, hard, and followed closely. The man that Gakupo approached was tall, with broad, muscular shoulders.

"Ah! Gakupo!" Master smiled brightly at Gakupo, his dark skin making his white teeth seem impossibly bright. He turned his chocolate brown eyes towards Kaito, who was hovering directly next to his violet-haired Vocaloid, leaning towards Gakupo as if to draw strength from his presence. "Ah... who's this?"

"Master.. this.. is Kaito." Gakupo tried a smile, then turned to the bluenette. "Kaito, this is my Master."

Kaito stuttered, his eyes a little wide from fear, "H-hello."

The bluenette pulled even closer to Gakupo, and Gakupo's eyes softened. Gakupo put his arm out again, pulling Kaito suddenly closer into a half embrace, looking into the bluenette's eyes with an encouraging, soft smile. Gakupo's Master watched the interaction, his eyes widening slightly.

"Master, welcome home. I'm sorry to spring this on you suddenly, but... some things have happened. Kaito has been staying at our house for the past two weeks, while you have been gone on your tour. Is it alright, for him to return with us, and I can tell you all about what has gone on while you were gone," Gakupo turned serious, anxious eyes back towards his Master. "It is not a good story, and Kaito's Master is... gone, now."

The buff, dark-skinned man frowned, and the slight, almost unrecognizable blush that was on his face cleared a little. He made a soft, thoughtful sound for a moment, as he regarded the two Vocaloids, how closely they were standing, and Gakupo's serious, earnest looking violet eyes.

"I... see," Master finally answered. He looked strongly at Kaito, who looked frightened, back at him, with beautiful blue eyes. "So, what's his singing voice like?" Master finally asked, flashing that easy, bright white smile once again. Gakupo's eyes went wide, and his body sagged in sudden, overwhelming relief. He hugged the bluenette even tighter against him, turning his eyes to look at Kaito, smiling openly.

"It's beautiful," Gakupo mumured, and stared happily into Kaito's eyes. The bluenette blushed and ducked his head away, then peeked back up underneath his eyelashes at the violette.

"You... haven't even heard me sing," Kaito mumbled. Gakupo's smile widened.

"Oh... yes, I think I have," The purring tone made Kaito's eyes widen, and his blush increased by tenfold, as his mind worked out what it was that Gakupo was implying.

Master threw back his head and laughed easily, his deep voice booming through the airport terminal. Travellers stopped in their tracks at the noise, staring at the threesome.

"I've worried about leaving you alone while I'm gone for so long on my tours, Gakupo. But maybe, just maybe, I won't have to worry about that again, in the future, eh?" Master threw a knowing wink at the Vocaloids, and even Gakupo blushed at that. But Kaito just ducked his head again, and found himself smiling in pleased embarassment.

"Good. Now, help me with my bags. I'm beat, and want to get home." Master instructed, and turned to find the baggage claim, not waiting for the Vocaloids to follow him.

Kaito's eyes followed Master shyly as the large, muscular man walked away.

"He seems... nice," Kaito said, with a wistful tone to his voice.

"He is," Gakupo replied approvingly, his smile still in place. "And that went better than I could have hoped." Gakupo paused, glancing down at Kaito, and smiling once again. "Let's not tell him that we've been sleeping in his bed, though, okay, Kaito?"

The bluenette flushed and grinned in embarassed amusement, shaking his soft hair slightly. "I promise."

Gakupo laughed lightly and pulled the bluenette in for a quick hug, then released Kaito, and turned to follow his Master to the baggage claim. Kaito stayed close behind him, running for a few steps to catch up with his lover. Gakupo put an easy arm back around Kaito's shoulder as they continued their walk forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random things that were not written out/included in the story:
> 
> 1) Gakupo getting Master's car back: This happened early on, Mikuo staying with Kaito while Taito drove Gakupo to the airport to get the vehicle. The reasons why Gakupo didn't drive Master there in the first place, so he could drive it home, are unsure, but for the sake of the story, let's call it a bad case of diarrhea. (Gakupo: "What!? Let's NOT!")
> 
> 2) Kaito's stitches: They didn't have to come out until after Kaito's Master was deceased, and so this was able to be done at the hospital.
> 
> 3) Taito's visit to the hospital: For unknown reasons, Taito's Master was not called as per hospital regulations when he was admitted for care. This could be because Taito's Vocaloid registry was not updated due to a paperwork error, when he was repurchased, but it is more likely that his Master just forgot to update their phone number, when it was changed, a short while ago. 
> 
> 4) Piko, and his new home: He's getting his ass returned to the store. Since he's still young and cute, he should be able to be repurchased pretty easily, though I imagine he's going to be living with his trauma for the rest of his young life. 
> 
> Piko doesn't appear in the scene with Rin and Taito and the puzzle pieces, and for the sake of the story, we'll say that it's because he had diahhrea. (Piko: No! Come on, I've already been abused! Can't you say I'm at the zoo, or sleeping in the other room, or something?) ...It's definitely explosive, debilitating diarrhea.
> 
> 5) Kaito's itchiness and/or phantom limb syndrome: Yes. Although I didn't end up writing this out, the itchiness drove him almost physically insane, shortly after his stitches came out. And yes, he will experience phantom limb syndrome, mainly as the result of periods of heightened stress, like when he has a PTSD episode, which will happen randomly and unexpectedly, and include nightmares, despite sleeping together with his lover in Gakupo's room from now on. It will also occur sometimes when there is pressure applied to the ends of his arms, and his nerves get all confused as to what the hell is going on.
> 
> 6) Dead Master: This body does not resurface. It's unclear what Taito did, whether he hid the body somewhere, or just left it to rot into a pile of stinking maggots in the shed, which is far enough removed from the main road that screams and bad smells do not attract attention. Master's disappearance is eventually deemed a mystery, and it's uncertain to those who know him whether he simply vanished, or whether he is deceased.
> 
> 7) Rin, Mikuo, and Taito's triangle: These three will likely enter a triangle relationship. I envision Taito as the seme, Mikuo as the savory cream filling in the sandwich cookie that is this relationship, and Rin as the bottom. Although Rin will probably boss them both around at her leisure as she regains her spunky enery/attitude while she recovers.
> 
> 8) Rin's facial damage: Will scar permanantly. Her other physical damage heals on its own with enough time for recovery. She also gets a haircut, to lessen the poor appearance that Bad Master's haircut left her with. It will eventually grow back to its normal appearance.
> 
> 9) Taito's eye: Is damaged permanantly, and he will not be able to see out of it again. He takes to wearing bandages over it as one of his character items. 
> 
> 10) Adopting Vocaloids: For the sake of this story alone, adopting a Vocaloid is mainly a case of paperwork, in the event that a Master becomes deceased, or disappears from the home for unexplained reasons for an extended length of time. It is uncommon, but this occurance does happen enough that the stores all carry preprinted forms for the adoption of Vocaloids by those who stand to inherit them.
> 
> 11) Taito and Mikuo borrowing their Master's car to go looking for Rin: It was fine, because their Master owns two vehicles; one for himself, one for his Vocaloids. It allows for better convenience in allowing his Vocaloids to run errands for him, although Taito generally is always the driver.
> 
> 12) Rin's Photograph: Gakupo returns it to her. He also keeps a copy for himself, with her permission.
> 
> 13) Rooming with Rin: Due to space constraints, Taito will need to move into Mikuo's room and bunk with him, while Rin gets his old room.
> 
> 14) Taito and Mikuo's Master knowing about Rin's MIA situation: The two Vocaloids' Master was kept apprised of the situation, allowing them to have the several days off of singing work while they looked for Rin. What a good Master, guys...

**Author's Note:**

> By the by, in case anybody isn't already familiar with it, the meme I referenced that inspired the title for this fic is from Episode 1 of Llamas with Hats, and you can find it on youtube.
> 
> And yes, to me, llamas are dudes. Although my exposure to this meme originally came in the form of an MMD, with Kaito as the "body" and I'm sure it was the only reason that the video popped up on my recommendations on youtube in the first place. The name of the MMD was "-MMD MEME- JEEEFFFF" in the random event you desire to go searching for it.
> 
> The other inspiration for this fic was almost definitely an acroto image of Kaito I found on Rule34 some while back. My first exposure to this kink, and, just yes.
> 
> Thanks for checking out this fic. I hope you enjoy it, even a little.


End file.
